"Felt like apologizing to Keni Harrison"- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled being embarrassed after finishing last in a race

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once recalled feeling embarrassed after finishing last in a women's 60m hurdles race. This happened in her first competition after events resumed following the COVID-19 break that had impacted the world.

She competed in the short hurdles event at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix 2021 but struggled, finishing eighth with a time of 8.56s. In her memoir Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith released on January 30, 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed that she abandoned her plan, ran impatiently, and took short, choppy strides. This disrupted her rhythm, which resulted in her last-place finish.

After the race, she was interviewed alongside the winner, Keni Harrison, a moment that she found particularly embarrassing. The now 400m hurdles world record holder admitted that she felt like apologizing as she believed she didn’t deserve to be interviewed standing next to Harrison, who had dominated the race, clocking a time of 7.82s. Reflecting on her post-race moment, she said:

“NBC talked to me and the winner, Keni Harrison, at the same time. Why am I here? I thought. I felt like apologizing to her."

"She’d just soundly thumped me on the track, and her reward for winning was standing next to me and listening as I talked about trusting the process, learning how to jump from my nondominant leg, and being comfortable being uncomfortable," McLaughlin-Levrone added.

Although she couldn’t perform well in this race, the American went on to become the Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles, a few months later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, Harrison bagged the silver medal while competing in the 100m hurdles in Tokyo.

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on how she handles the pressure of competing in a big event like the Olympics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Paris Olympics (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reflected on how she handled the pressure of competing in a huge event like the Olympics. During a March 2025 interaction with track icon Michael Johnson, she shared how her faith plays an important role in the process, stating (7:50 onwards):

“My faith is a huge part of it. Just knowing that my identity is not in whether I win or lose this race, first and foremost, gives me so much peace to just go out there and use the gift that I've been given…I'm locked in because I know what I'm there to do and I'm really focused on executing and giving my all to everything that I am here to do.”

“I'm talking to myself. I'm repeating my race plan in my head…Once I get on that line, I know that all the preparation has been done. I've done everything I need to do to be prepared for this moment. Now it's just letting the gift shine for itself,” she added.

In the interview, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone further discussed the unforgiving nature of track and field compared to other sports, highlighting the lack of second chances or next plays. She mentioned that the best athletes are those who manage their emotions well.