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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once revealed that spending time with her high school coaches at the Rio Olympics made her feel less bad about her experience at the Games. The American had deliberately slowed down in the semifinals and ended up not making it to the final.
Mclaughlin-Levrone qualified for the Rio Games after a third-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials, clocking a world junior record of 54.15 seconds to announce her arrival on the international stage. However, the 25-year-old couldn't replicate her performance at the Olympics.
The New Jersey native, who was only 16 years old at the time, had reluctantly participated in the Games and was feeling immense pressure. She eventually gave up during the semifinals, slowing down enough to not make it to the finals.
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While McLaughlin-Levrone regretted her decision for several days afterward, she began to enjoy her Olympic debut experience as the closing ceremony approached. The 25-year-old felt less about her loss in the semifinals after spending time with her high school coaches and realizing how far she had come at such a young age. Recalling the events in her 2024 memoir 'Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear To Faith", she wrote:
"Each day there were sweet moments, surprises that happen only at the Olympics. Spending time with my high school coaches truly made me feel less bad about my actions in the semifinal."
Watching them get to experience this new adventure with me was an amazing moment none of us will ever forget. From the classroom to the world stage, we had accomplished far more than we imagined when our season began. Moments like these were truly memorable," Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote in her 2024 memoir.
USA would nonetheless go on to win the 400m hurdles title as Dalilah Muhammed sprinted to gold in 53.14s. While Muhammed was only the second American to win the title, McLaughlin-Levrone became the third five years later in Tokyo. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she became the first American to win two 400m hurdles Olympic titles.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone explains why she lost deliberately in the 2016 Rio semifinals
After returning from the race to the Olympic Village, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled being instantly gripped with the feeling of guilt and regret.
"It wasn’t long after the race was over, and my body wasn’t in pain anymore, that the uncertainty, that feeling of regret, began to take hold. As soon as I got back to my temporary home in the Olympic Village, guilt began to rush upon me," she wrote in her 2024 memoir.
The 25-year-old began looking for reasons behind her shocking decision. She attributed it to humungous expectations of media and fans, who were vying for the American trio including herself, Dalilah Muhammed and Ashley Spencer to sweep the podium.
"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 added.
The New Jersey native had hoped and prayed for another shot at the Olympics, and when she did get it five years later in Tokyo, Japan, the 25-year-old not only won the gold medal, but she shattered the world record in the distance.
