Historical Spotlight: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Running is one of the best forms of cardio to get in shape, and helps ensure your heart stays strong enough to pump healthy oxygen throughout your body. It has a low-cost barrier of entry, lots of different varieties, and even gives you a rush of endorphins once you’re done. Getting good at running, no matter if it’s long distance or short, requires much time, effort, training, and discipline. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on one of the greatest runners, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Sydney was born on August 7, 1999 to her parents Willie and Mary McLaughlin in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She grew up in Dunellen, New Jersey and is the second youngest of her parents’ four kids. She has an older brother named Taylor, an older sister named Morgan, and a younger brother named Ryan.
Sydney’s parents both ran in their youth. Her dad shined as an East Orange High School track and field star and was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame as a three-time All-American. He continued on to become a semi-finalist in the 400 meters at the 1984 Olympic Trials. Her mom was a 2:12 half-miler in high school and ran on the boys’ track team. She met her husband Willie at Manhattan College where she managed the men’s track team since there was no women’s track team at the time.
Athletic ability is a combination that relies on your genetics, environment, and training. Sydney grew up with parents who excelled in running and got interested in the sport at an early age like her siblings. Her dad was able to spot her potential for greatness at the early age of 14 and did everything he could to help her achieve her goals.
She attended Union Catholic Regional High School and, in 2014, set a national high school freshman record and a world best for age 14 when she ran 55.63 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles at the national junior championships. Despite finishing second, she would have qualified to represent the US at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships if she was just one year older. Later that summer, she set another world age group best after running 13.34 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.
During her sophomore year of high school, she ran 55.28 seconds in the national youth trials 400 meter hurdles competition to become second on the all-time world youth list. She qualified for the World Youth Championships in Colombia and won gold with a time of 55.94 seconds.
In 2016, her 400 meter hurdles time continued to improve. She won the New Balance national outdoor high school championships with a time of 54.46 seconds. She also placed third at the Olympic Trials to qualify her for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro before her senior year in high school. She ran a speedy time of 54.15 seconds to set a new world youth best and world junior record, and was the youngest athlete to make the American Olympic track and field team since 1980. Unfortunately, she didn’t advance to the finals after finishing fifth in the semi-finals.
In 2016, she, along with Emma Coburn, Brenda Martinez, and Jenny Simpson, broke the indoor distance medley relay world record with a time of 10:40.31. On March 12th, Sydney broke her own 400 meter record after running 51.61 seconds at the New Balance Nationals in New York City. She also broke the 300 meter hurdles national high school record during her very first attempt when she ran 38.90 seconds at the Arcadia Invitational.
She clocked impressive times of 50.37 seconds during the Penn Relays and 49.85 seconds during the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Meet for the high school girls’ 4 x 400 meter relay competitions. Because of her elite performance, she was named the Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. She was the first athlete ever to win the award twice and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
After high school, Sydney attended the University of Kentucky and continued setting and breaking records. In March 2018, she set the world junior 400 meter record when she ran 50.36 seconds at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. Just a few months later in May, she ran 52.75 seconds to break the collegiate record in the 400 meter hurdles.
After only a short stint in college, Sydney decided to run professionally and signed a sponsorship deal with New Balance. For representation, she decided to go with William Morris Endeavor, a firm that manages Hollywood stars instead of hiring an agent that specializes in athletes. Bob Kersee is her coach.
In 2019, Sydney won every Diamond League 400 meter hurdles competition she participated in and picked up wins in Oslo, Monaco, and Zurich. She finished second place at the World Athletics Championships in Qatar with a time of 52.23 seconds.
During the 2021 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, she set a world record time of 51.90 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles. She immediately beat her own record at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with a time of 51.46 seconds and won her very first Olympic gold medal. She won her second gold medal in Tokyo as part of the women’s 4 x 400 meter relay team.
In 2022, Sydney started competing in the 100 meter hurdles and won at the Penn Relays Carnival with a time of 12.75 seconds. She continued shaving time off of her 400 meter hurdles record, clocking 51.41 seconds during the USATF Championships in Oregon and 50.68 seconds at the World Championships in Oregon. She became the first woman to run the 400 meter hurdles in under 51 seconds and also took home gold as part of the women’s 4 x 400 meter relay team.
On May 5, 2022, she married her husband Andre Levrone Jr., who was a wide receiver for the University of Virginia. He was signed with three NFL teams before retiring in 2020, but never played in a regular-season game.
She expanded her number of events by racing the 400 meters for the first time professionally on June 9, 2023. She ran 49.71 seconds during her first event in Paris, 49.51 seconds for the New York Grand Prix, and a speedy 48.74 at the USATF Championships in Oregon, just barely missing the American record of 48.70 seconds.
After withdrawing from the 2023 World Athletics Championships because of a knee injury, Sydney bounced back and won the 200 meter race at the Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 18, 2024. Just a month later at the New York Grand Prix, she won the 400 meter race with a time of 48.75 seconds.
In June 2024, she signed with Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track league to compete in the long hurdles during the 2025 season. Just a few weeks later, she broke her world record in the 400 meter hurdles again during the 2024 Olympic Trials where she ran 50.65 seconds to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. On August 8, 2024, she broke her own world record yet again to finish with a time of 50.37 seconds and claim another Olympic gold medal. She won her fourth Olympic gold medal as part of the women’s 4 x 400 meter relay.
On January 30, 2024, Sydney released a book named Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith to share about her life and experiences from the 2016 US Olympic trials to the 2023 outdoor season. Throughout her book, she showcases her journey to improve her faith and relationship with God.
She’s received quite a number of awards over the years for her exceptional performance on the track. The World Athletics Awards, annual awards organized by World Athletics to honor athletes participating in track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking, awarded her the Rising Star award for women in 2018, the World Athlete of the Year award for women in 2022, and the Women’s Track Athlete of the Year award in 2024. The Night of Legends, an annual track and field awards ceremony organized by USA Track & Field, awarded her the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Female Athlete of the Year award in 2021 and 2022 and the Most Dominant Performer Wing Award in 2024.
In April 2025, she made her Grand Slam Track debut at the 2025 Kingston Slam where she took home first place in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 52.76 seconds and the 400 meters with a time of 50.32 seconds. During the 2025 Miami Slam just a month later, she improved on both of her times by running 52.07 in the 400 meter hurdles and 49.69 in the 400 meters.
Sydney is still competing, making headlines, and breaking world records. She’s truly an inspiration to all those who love the sport of running and has put in the time, effort, dedication, and discipline to improve over her career. She’s definitely a crowd favorite for a reason…it’s incredible to see her in action!
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Signed,
Jessica Marie
