"I've heard that when you have a child and come back you're even stronger" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared her views on motherhood 

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone once revealed that she had heard motherhood made athletes stronger. The American hurdler is married to former NFL player Andre Levrone.

Mclaughlin-Levrone is widely regarded as one of the greatest 400m hurdlers in history. In addition to her two Olympic titles in the event, the New Jersey native has broken the world record six times, shaving nearly two seconds off from the previous record since 2021.

The 25-year-old began dating Andre a year before breaking the record for the first time. The couple married in 2022, and while they haven't disclosed their plans of having a baby, McLaughlin-Levrone shared her views about motherhood during an interview with Chibuogwu Nnadiegbulam in May 2023.

The 2022 Word Champion was asked what it meant for female athletes to be able to return to track after childbirth and she replied:

"It's unreal. It shows the resiliency, it shows just the beauty of motherhood and being able to share that story with your newborn child and tell them the stories of how they had you and continue to pursue this,"

"I think it's a really beautiful thing to see and I've heard that when you have a child and come back you're even stronger so I mean that's just what I've heard so I think it's really it's really cool to see and it's very inspiring to just see the drive and the resiliency of these amazing women so much." [3:04 onwards]

Notably, retired American sprinter Allyson Felix made a strong comeback after giving birth to her first child in 2019. The seven-time Olympic champion broke Usain Bolt's record for world titles before winning two medals including a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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"What we're watching is not normal" - Allyson Felix on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

World Athletics Awards 2024 - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins Female Track Athlete of The Year award - Source: Getty

Speaking in an interview with NBC in July 2024 after Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone broke the world record for the fifth time, Allyson Felix hailed the American as a generational talent.

"Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is definitely a generational talent. You know, I think we have to realize that what we're watching is not normal. And it's very rare. I think it's hard sometimes since she makes it look so easy,"

"But she's doing things that no one has ever done before and so it's always so exciting when she gets on the track," Felix said

The 25-year-old clocked 50.65s to shave 0.03s off her previous world record at the US Olympic Trials before running a blistering 50.37s at the Paris Olympics. She also clocked the third fastest 4x400m relay leg in history, 47.71s, to win the fourth Olympic gold medal of her career.