As a 15-year-old, McLaughlin won the 400 m hurdles event at the2015 World Youth Championships. In 2016, she was the youngest athlete sinceDenean Howard in 1980 to qualify for theU.S. Olympic track team, having placed third at theU.S. Olympic Trials, with the currentworld under-18 best of 54.15 seconds, then subsequently setting the world U20 record.[12] She holds the currentworld U20 record of 53.60 seconds, having achieved a junior personal best of 52.75s (not ratified), with both marks set in 2018. Aside from McLaughlin-Levrone, only three other women have ever broken the 52 second barrier, and only one other has broken 51. She holds six of the tenall-time fastest 400 m hurdles times. She was the2019 Diamond League champion.
In addition to being successful academically, McLaughlin-Levrone took up running at an early age, following brother Taylor and their older sister Morgan.[22] When she was 14, her father said, "All of our kids are fairly talented, but [Sydney's] a little special. We saw it coming. It was just a matter of time."[18] She is a member of the class of 2017 atUnion Catholic Regional High School inScotch Plains, where she was the first two-timeGatorade Player of the Year in Track & Field.[22][23][24] Her older sister, Morgan, ran forSt. Peter's University. Her older brother, Taylor, ran for theUniversity of Michigan, and won silver in the 400 meter hurdles at the2016 IAAF World U20 Championships.[12][22] Her younger brother, Ryan, took after his older siblings as a track stand-out at Union Catholic.[25] He was the fifth member of the family to win a New Jersey county track title.[25][26]
At the nationaljunior championships in 2014, McLaughlin-Levrone placed a close second behindShamier Little in the400-meter hurdles; her time of 55.63 s was a nationalhigh school freshman record and a world age-14 best.[18][27] She would have qualified to represent the United States at the2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, but was a year too young to be eligible.[28] McLaughlin-Levrone also set a world age group best of 13.34 s in the100-meter hurdles over 76.2 cm (2 ft 6.0 in) hurdles that summer.[27]
In 2015, she improved her 400-meter hurdles best to 55.28 s at the national youth trials; the time was an age 15 world best, and ranked second on the all-time world youth list behindLeslie Maxie's world youth best (and national high school record) of 55.20 s set in 1984.[28] She qualified for theWorld Youth Championships inCali, Colombia, where she won gold in 55.94 s; she finished the year as the world youth and junior leader in the event.[29]
McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400-meter hurdles in 54.46 s at the New Balance national outdoor high school championships; the time broke Maxie's prep record and world youth best, as well asLashinda Demus's American junior record of 54.70 s.[30] In addition, she ran on Union Catholic's team in the sprint medley relay, running a fast 50.93 s split for 400 meters as the team set a new high school record of 2:07.99.[30] She won the USATF junior championship in 54.54 s the following week; in recognition of her accomplishments, she was namedGatorade National Girls Athlete of the Year.[23][31]
McLaughlin-Levrone placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in 54.15 s at theUS Olympic Trials , setting a new world youth best and world junior record and qualifying for theOlympics inRio de Janeiro before her senior year in high school.[29][32][33] She was the youngest athlete to make the American Olympic track and field team sinceCarol Lewis andDenean Howardqualified for theboycottedMoscow Olympics in 1980.[34] At the Games, she placed fifth in her semi-final heat, failing to advance to the finals.[35]
She was part of an American record setting quartet that broke the indoordistance medley relay world record with a time of 10:40.31, set at theNew Balance Indoor Grand Prix on January 28 at Boston'sReggie Lewis Center. The splits for the four legs were: 3:18.40 (1200 m) byEmma Coburn, 52.32 (400 m) by McLaughlin, 2:01.92 (800 m) byBrenda Martinez, and 4:27.66 (1600 m) byJenny Simpson.[36] Later that indoor season on March 12, McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her own national 400-meter record to a 51.61 s at the New Balance Nationals in New York City.[37]
In April, McLaughlin-Levrone opened her outdoor season by breaking the 300 m hurdles national high school record at theArcadia Invitational, running 38.90 s. The record was previously held byLashinda Demus who achieved 39.98 s in 2001. The record was the first ever attempt over 300 m hurdles for McLaughlin-Levrone as high school track meets in New Jersey do not contest the 300 m hurdles. Her time was a North American record and number 2 all-time worldwide behindZuzana Hejnová who ran 38.16 in 2013.[38] Later that month, McLaughlin-Levrone ran the fastest ever high school girls relay split (400 m) during the Championship of America high school girls 4 × 400 at the 123rd Penn Relays. After taking the baton at the back of an eight-team field, she posted a split of 50.37 s, passing five teams to lead her Union Catholic relay team to a third-place finish in 3:38.92.[39] McLaughlin-Levrone bettered this mark at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Meet on June 18. Taking the baton in sixth place on the final handoff, she passed five runners to lead Union Catholic to victory, posting a split of 49.85 seconds.[40]
McLaughlin-Levrone was named theGatorade National Female Athlete of the Year in 2015–16 and 2016–17. She was the first athlete to repeat in the then-15-year history of the award. At the age of 17, she was on the cover ofSports Illustrated when she won the award the second time in July 2017 and the magazine said she "ranks as one of the most dominant high school athletes ever.".[26] McLaughlin-Levrone also excelled in the classroom graduating with aGPA of 3.55. Additionally she volunteered for the Central Jersey Chapter of Hope Worldwide, distributed fire safety and disaster relief information to residents on behalf of theAmerican Red Cross and donated time to Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts inToms River, New Jersey.[41]
In March 2018, she set the world junior 400-meter record of 50.36 seconds at theNCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. On May 13, McLaughlin-Levrone broke the collegiate record in the 400 m hurdles, running 52.75 s to win the event in her firstSEC championship appearance.[44]
On September 18, 2024, McLaughlin-Levrone was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. Although she attended the University for just one year and did not receive a degree, during her induction speech she told the audience: "I would not be the woman that I am had I not attended UK."[45]
In June 2018, after one year at Kentucky, she forfeited her remaining eligibility to compete in college and turned professional, and signed a sponsorship deal withNew Balance in October of the same year.[46][47] Instead of hiring an agent specializing in athletes, McLaughlin-Levrone contracted withWilliam Morris Endeavor, a firm that typically represents Hollywood stars.[48]
She is coached by track coachBob Kersee,[49] whose successes have mainly been with female athletes.
In 2021, McLaughlin-Levrone defeated Muhammad at theOlympic Trials inEugene, Oregon, setting a new world record in the process with her time of 51.90.[53] Later, at theOlympic Games in Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone bettered her time to 51.46 to claim the Olympic gold.[54] She later won a second gold as part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay.[55]
McLaughlin-Levrone ahead of the competition in her 400 m hurdles semi-final at the2024 Paris Olympics
On May 18, McLaughlin-Levrone won the 200 m at theLos Angeles Grand Prix, beating 200 m specialists such asGabby Thomas andAbby Steiner.[65] At theNew York Grand Prix in June, McLaughlin-Levrone competed in her first 400 m race of the season with a then-world-leading time of 48.75, just 0.01 seconds slower than her personal best. Having led the race early on, she powered ahead at 200 metres to beat the second-place finisher,Talitha Diggs, by over two seconds.[66]
In June, McLaughlin-Levrone signed withMichael Johnson'sGrand Slam Track league for the then-upcoming 2025 season, in the long hurdles (400 m hurdles / 400 m flat) category.[67]
On June 30, at the2024 Olympic Trials, McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own 400-meter hurdles world record once more, finishing with a time of 50.65 seconds and qualifying for the2024 Summer Olympics.[68] On August 8, 2024, at theOlympic Games in Paris, McLaughlin-Levrone once again broke her own world record, finishing with a time of 50.37 seconds and defending her Olympic title.[69][70] She went on to win another gold as part of the Women's 4 × 400 m relay.[71]
On September 3, 2024, it was announced that McLaughlin-Levrone would compete in both the 200 and 400 m in the2024 Diamond League finals inBrussels, Belgium, on September 13 and 14.[72] However, a day later, Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny said that she was ineligible to compete in the finals, because she hadn't competed in any Diamond League events in the 2024 season, so she hadn't accumulated any points and didn't qualify for awild card.[73] She went on to compete in the pre-programme events in these distances instead, winning both with times of 22.40 and 49.11 seconds respectively.[74][75]
On April 6, at theGrand Slam Track’s inaugural event inKingston, Jamaica. McLaughlin-Levrone ran an impressive 50.32 seconds in the 400 meter flat, despite windy conditions for a win. She also sped to a 52.76 world-leading time in the 400 m hurdles.
On May 3, inMiami, Florida, McLaughlin-Levrone posted a time of 52.07 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles to win her 12th consecutive 400 meter hurdle finals.[76]
On May 31, at Grand Slam Track[77]’s Philadelphia meet, Mclaughlin-Levrone moved away from her traditional 400 m hurdles and 400 m flat races to take on the short hurdles. In the 100 m hurdles, she finished fifth with a time of 12.70.[78]
On September 16, during the semi-finals at the2025 World Athletics Championships inTokyo, Japan, Mclaughlin-Levrone broke the U.S. record for the women's 400 meters; running that distance in 48.29 seconds.[79] Two days later, on September 18, Mclaughlin-Levrone won the 400 m final in a time of 47.78, the second-fastest time ever run by a woman and a new championship record.[80] On the final day of the Tokyo meet McLaughlin-Levrone earned a second gold medal anchoring the U.S. women's 4 × 400 meter relay team to victory on a rain soaked track. McLaughlin-Levrone's anchor split of 47.82 seconds gave the U.S. a meet record of 3:16.61, the fifth fastest time ever for women's 4 × 400 meters.[81][82]
McLaughlin-Levrone is married to Andre Levrone Jr. (born March 9, 1995), who played four seasons at wide receiver for theUniversity of Virginia before graduating in 2018, and who was with three NFL teams before retiring in 2020 without ever playing in a regular-season NFL game.[83][84] Levrone and McLaughlin announced their engagement on August 25, 2021, at theFour Seasons Resort,Scottsdale.[85] They married at Early Mountain Vineyards inMadison, Virginia on May 5, 2022.[86]
Her hometown of Dunellen, New Jersey, named the track at the town's Columbia Park for McLaughlin-Levrone on August 28, 2021.[90]
On January 30, 2024, McLaughlin-Levrone releasedFar Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, an autobiographical book recounting her life and experiences from the2016 U.S. Olympic trials through the 2023 outdoor season.[91] McLauglin-Levrone's book focuses on her running career, while showcasing her journey to become closer to God. Her goal in writing this book was to not only share her personal journey, but also encourage others to do the same.[92]
^Though her indoor 400 m time of 50.36 s was faster than the world under-20 record as recognized byWorld Athletics, it had not been ratified and was not listed as pending ratification as of June 2021.[99][100]
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Sydney McGlaughlin-Levrone Hall of Fame Induction Speech UK Athletics video
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