Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's Olympics Prep Is A Mental And Physical Feat
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Two-time Olympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has mastered the art of the game face. Standing behind the starting blocks of the 400m hurdles, she wears a stoic expression. While her competitors smile into the camera or wave at the crowd as the stadium announcer bellows their names, Sydney stares straight ahead, unflinching. She is all business.
A hint of that steely reserve is on display as we chat on a Monday afternoon less than two months before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track and field, in Eugene, Oregon. But Sydney’s expression is also contemplative and frequently punctuated by a wide, winning grin. That smile soon shifts into a chuckle as we discuss one of her favorite activities.
“I love sleep,” the 24-year-old enthuses. “My husband [former NFL player Andre Levrone, Jr.] says he’s actually concerned by how much I love sleep. A good night for me is nine hours. An amazing night is 10.”
It might come as a surprise to hear one of the planet’s fastest women—she holds the world record in the 400m hurdles, bounding over 10 of those 30-inch-tall barriers in a jaw-dropping 50.68 seconds—admit that rest and relaxation is a preferred pastime. But Sydney knows herself, and she knows how necessary a good night’s sleep is for performance. Things haven’t always been that crystal clear. Sydney has had to overcome many hurdles, both literal and figurative, over the course of her nearly decade-long career to attain that deep awareness and understanding of what her body and soul need in order to thrive.
Raised in the small town of Dunellen, New Jersey, Sydney is one of four children born to Willie and Mary McLaughlin, both former track athletes. Despite their running backgrounds, neither parent pressured their children to follow in their footsteps. “Number one for them was just getting us active,” Sydney says. “There was also the social aspect of it, being able to play on teams and make friends.”
Young Sydney participated in all kinds of sports—basketball, soccer, softball, dance—but from an early age, she was mesmerized by track and field. The first Olympics she watched were the 2008 Beijing Games, when she was just 8, and Sydney specifically recalls tuning in to the 4x400 meter women’s relay featuring future Team USA teammate Allyson Felix.
“I told my mom, ‘This is what I want to do,’” Sydney says. “‘I want to be out there. This is my dream.’” She drew further inspiration from her older sister, Morgan, who was already a hurdler competing at the 100m distance. Sydney ran her first 400m hurdles at a small meet when she was 14 years old.
“I did not know what I was doing,” she says. “I think I stutter-stepped to every hurdle.”
What she considers a poor showing—she clocked in at 61 seconds—earned her first place. But it wasn’t enough to buoy her confidence. “I was like, I don’t know if this is for me,” she says, thinking about the hurdles. “That was my first instinct.”
Sydney kept jumping, though, and in two short years, at just 16, she qualified for the Olympic team bound for Rio. She would become the youngest American to make the Olympic track and field team since runner Denean Howard and long jumper Carol Lewis in 1980. But before she set foot in Brazil, feelings of fear and anxiety took hold. You can hardly blame her: This would be her grand introduction to global competition, and she felt ill equipped to perform at such an elite level at this young age.
“I was excited about being able to say I’d made it to the Olympics, but I was also terrified,” she says. “I didn’t know much about the 400m hurdles. And so every time I would go out there, it ended up turning out pretty well, but I didn’t have a strategy or a race plan.”
Perhaps even more detrimental to her success, Sydney says, is that she didn’t have an understanding of her thoughts and emotions that would have allowed her to process those fears and doubts.
“I didn’t know who I was. I was 16 years old. You’re at the mercy of everything that’s around you and trying to make sense of your identity, what you stand for, and what’s important to you,” she says. “And now place all of that on top of trying to fulfill a childhood dream. There’s a lot of weight in all of that. I don’t think I was capable at the time of handling it in any way that would’ve really been productive.”
Sydney placed fifth in her semifinal heat in Rio, falling short of the 400m hurdle finals. “I was grateful to experience the Games so young, because later, in Tokyo, I had a better grip on what was to come,” she says.
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In the years between Rio and Tokyo, Sydney spent time working on herself, both on and off the track. She sought ways to improve her mental health, to try to squelch the anxiety that simmered beneath the surface and was bleeding into other areas of her life, including relationships. She went to therapy, which she says didn’t work for her personally, though she understands how beneficial it can be for others. She ultimately found solace in an aspect of her childhood that was always there but never fully leaned into: faith.
“My faith has been like a saving grace—no pun intended—helping me to understand who I am in Christ, why I am here. Understanding that and placing my trust in Jesus, it’s allowed everything else to fall into place,” she says. “Now, when I step on the line, I’m not running to prove a point. I’m not running to validate myself, and I’m not running to glorify myself. It’s using the gift I’ve been given to point all of the attention back to Him and show that He’s worth it, win, lose, or draw. It brings so much peace to know that if I lose this race, I did not lose any value.”
That spiritually focused mindset has helped Sydney push through doubt and apprehension. But like any athlete, her mind still races the night before a big meet, so she employs other tactics too. To quiet her thoughts, Sydney turns to the Abide app’s sleepcasts, which narrate Bible stories and verses. She’ll place Post-it notes with Bible quotes or a finishing-time goal—inspiration akin to a traveling vision board—around her hotel room.
Around when Sydney was working on her mental game, she made a switch to her physical game too. Sensing she might be stalling out, she began training in 2020 with a new coach: Bobby Kersee, a veteran in track and field and husband of legendary runner Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
“Bobby knows how to pull the gold out of you,” says Sydney. “If you listen to his instructions and go through his workouts, then everything else will just fall into place when you step on the track.”
These six athletes are also prepared to leave it all on the line in Paris:
With her refreshed focus and a new approach to training, Sydney came home from Tokyo in 2021 with two medals: an individual gold for the 400m hurdles and a team gold for the 4x400m relay, which she ran with her idol, Allyson Felix. “It felt like a sigh of relief,” Sydney says of winning gold at her second Games. “Since I was 8 years old, that’s something I had aspired to do, and for it to finally come to fruition felt like a weight off my shoulders.”
It was also a bittersweet victory, as Sydney’s family and friends weren’t there due to pandemic restrictions. But you better believe they’ll be in the stands for the 2024 Paris Games. (And it could be a true family affair, as Sydney’s brother Taylor, also a hurdler, will be vying for a spot on Team USA too!) “This feels like a full-circle Olympics—combining those past experiences into this one,” says Sydney. “I’m excited for that.”
And she’s training hard to earn her place in the starting blocks. After sitting out the 2023 World Championships due to a minor knee injury, Sydney is focused on making sure her knees are healthy. “My trainer always says, ‘Prehab, not rehab.’”
To that end, she strength-trains twice a week, mixing lifting, balance work, and core work. Four or five days a week are dedicated to the track, with two days spent on speed and two on longer distance. That mix is key for a race like the 400m hurdles, where both speed and stamina are required to cross the finish line. And then there are her two rest days a week. Whether Sydney spends the day running errands or candle-painting with friends, she respects the sanctity of days off and refuses to break a sweat.
That rigorous training regimen is supported by a diet that’s intuitive (Sydney doesn’t count macros). A typical breakfast is oatmeal with berries, honey, and cinnamon, with some eggs on the side. For lunch, it’s a salad with chicken. Snacks include applesauce, beef jerky, and dried mango strips. A protein shake will find its way in at some point too. Dinner is salmon, asparagus, and quinoa, with a “healthy-ish” dessert to finish.
As our time together winds down, I ask Sydney if, after nearly a decade of competing, two Olympic Games, and multiple national and world records, she still loves to run. She pauses. “I do,” she says slowly. When I note her delayed response, she continues, “It does get harder as the years go by. You’re pushing your body to its limits. It’s a part of sports that can be physically draining, mentally draining, and that’s why taking breaks and remembering why you love it is so important. Track is not going to last forever, so I’m trying to continue to enjoy it. I don’t want to take anything for granted.” Spoken like a true self-aware champion.
USA
Spain
Taiwan
Australia
Germany
Japan
Portugal
Netherlands
South Africa
United Kingdom
Photographed by Caleb & Gladys. Styled by Kristen Saladino. Hair: Marcia Hamilton @Forward Artists. Makeup: Yolonda Frederick-Thompson with crowd MGMT. Prop styling: Cate Geiger Kalus. Production: Crawford & Co Productions.
First image: Norma Kamali top and legging, normakamali.com; David Yurman hoop earrings, davidyurman.com; New Balance sneakers, newbalance.com
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