"I slowed down just enough so I wouldn’t make it to finals" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone explained why she deliberately lost at 2016 Olympics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once opened up on her 2016 Rio Olympics semifinal race, revealing that she didn't have the desire to win and slowed down in the last stretch. While the American finished fifth and didn't qualify for the finals, she admitted regretting her decision afterward.

McLaughlin-Levrone qualified for the Olympic Games as a 16-year-old at the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2016 Rio Olympics after finishing third in the 400m hurdle finals. She clocked 54.15s to become the youngest American track athlete to qualify for the Summer Games since 1980.

The 25-year-old finished fifth in her heat during the qualifying round and qualified based on her time of 56.32s for the semifinals. However, she said she 'dreaded' the next round and when the race took place on the following day, McLaughlin-Levrone found herself without the desire to win.

Recalling the race in her 2024 memoir 'Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith', she wrote:

"Halfway through the race, I was running well, within striking distance of the final. But at some point over the next 100 meters, my instinct abandoned me, and I was left with just my thoughts. It was the first time it ever disappeared on the track."

The 25-year-old continued:

"Around the final turn, my patented final push to the finish line didn’t show up. I didn’t even try to find it. Instead, I slowed down just enough to make sure I wouldn’t make it to the finals."

McLaughlin-Levrone finished fifth in 56.32s and didn't qualify for the finals. While the four-time Olympic champion said she wasn't proud of herself, she said she wanted to protect herself from the expectations of people.

"As soon as I got back to my temporary home in the Olympic Village, guilt began to rush upon me. I was such a competitor. Why, under any circumstances, would I slow down? What was causing that? Who cared if I didn’t live up to the expectations of the media, fans, or anyone else?" she wrote

---

"The summer of 2016 showed me how much control my fear had over me" - Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone

Track and Field during the Paris 2024 Olympics. - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins gold (Source: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was still in high school in 2016 when she raced against people nearly twice her age. While she impressed during that season, especially at the Olympic Trials, the New Jersey native said in her memoir that she was gripped with fear through the whole summer.

"From Eugene to Rio, the summer of 2016 showed me how much control my fear had over me. It dominated the track that summer. And after Rio, the fear didn’t go away. It grew until it infected every part of my life," Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled.

It was the fear of losing and not living up to the hype and expectations of the people and the media. However, she overcame it over the next four years and on her next appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo, she won two gold medals and broke the 400m hurdles world record as well.