"16-year-old me was on her own" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made emotional revelation about boyfriend, family & others

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once made an emotional revelation about her growth and shared the importance of her support system in her journey. She opened up about her challenges as a 16-year-old, including feeling isolated and lacking confidence.

However, she revealed that she gained the knowledge she once lacked and credited the growth to her support system, including her parents, her then-boyfriend and now husband Andre Levrone, and mentors like coach Bobby Kersee and retired athlete Allyson Felix.

During the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials held in 2021 after the 400m hurdles semi-finals, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was asked to reflect on her 2016 self and how much she has matured and improved since then. She responded (from 2:42 onwards) via FloTrack:

“Yeah, I think at the age of 16, there was so much I just didn't know and now having that wisdom and that knowledge and being around people who have been in the sport for such a long time - Allyson [Felix], Bobby [Kersee], it's definitely given me the confidence that I needed in the areas that I’m not very familiar with.” [2:24 onwards]

“My support system, my family, my boyfriend just having them around me too. 16-year-old me, she felt like she was really on her own, but now having this group makes it so much more comfortable,” she also mentioned.

McLaughlin-Levrone also recently spoke about the possibility of breaking the 50s barrier in the 400m hurdles.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opens up on possibility of breaking the 50s barrier in women’s 400m hurdles

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins the Women's Track Athlete of the Year trophy after the World Athletics Awards 2024 ceremony (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

After a remarkable 2024 track and field season, during which she broke the 400m hurdles world record twice and added two more Olympic gold medals to her collection, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared her thoughts on whether breaking the 50s barrier in her signature hurdles event is now a possibility. In an interview with World Athletics in December 2024, she said:

“That definitely is on my mind for sure. An athlete would naturally want to do that. Whether that happens or not is up to God. I’m just going to work for it, I can’t put a number on it. It may be me, or maybe an athlete in five or 10 years from now. So I’m just going to continue to try to be the best I can be and if it comes it comes, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

McLaughlin-Levrone first broke the world record in 2024 in her signature event at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, recording an impressive time of 50.65s. She then went on to break the world record for the sixth time overall, and for the second time that year, at the Paris Olympics, where she outpaced all her opponents with a dominant 50.37-second run.

Owing to her record-breaking performances in 2024, she also received the World Athletics Female Track Athlete of the Year for the season.