“I don’t think anyone expected me to make the Team”- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened to about her qualification for Olympics as a 16-year-old

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recently recalled her time during the 2016 Olympics and spoke about her qualification for the event. The American hurdler recently concluded the Paris Olympics with two gold medals.

The 25-year-old proved her billing as a formidable athlete during the 2024 Summer Olympics by surpassing her own world record in the 400m hurdles finals. She clocked a world record of 50.37s and clinched a gold medal in the event by trouncing her on-field arch rivals, Anna Cockrell and Femke Bol, who claimed second and third place, respectively.

McLaughlin-Levrone commenced her Olympic journey in 2016 as a 16-year-old after she qualified for the 400m hurdles by clocking a new world junior recur of 54.15s. Following this, she became the youngest athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games since 1980. Recalling this incident, the American athlete spoke about how there were no expectations from herself and felt that it was all luck in a video interview with L'Officiel.

"I don’t think anyone expected me to make the team. It really did feel like luck at the time, so there were no expectations at all. I was just there to do my best and represent New Jersey, my family, and my country the best I could," said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about what attracted her to track and field

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed the reason behind choosing track and field in her career, in her memoir, 'Far Beyond Gold.' She said that she wasn't attracted to the sport because of money and chose it because it felt good.

"No one becomes a track-and-field athlete for the money. There’s not a crazy amount of it in our sport, like there is in basketball or football. No one does it for the fame. Not a ton of that either. And while running can feel good, especially when your body releases endorphins, it almost always produces an extraordinary amount of pain," McLaughlin-Levrone wrote.

Along with this, McLaughlin-Levrone also revealed the trials and tribulations that athletes went through during the training:

"You can barely breathe. You are stiff and sore later that night. So while the money, fame, and pleasure of running may not be all that attractive, there’s another element that pulls athletes like me into the sport. I must confess that I’m hopelessly addicted to the process of improvement."

Following her gold medal win in the 400m hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won another gold medal in the 4x400m relay.