"I endured one of the most physically grueling minutes" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reflected on 400m hurdles loss at Rio Games

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once opened up about the toughest moment while competing at the 2016 Rio Games. McLaughlin-Levrone made her first Olympic appearance at the Rio edition when she was 16 years old.

She became the youngest athlete to make the American Olympic track team since the boycotted 1980 Games. McLaughlin-Levrone earned her spot to compete in Brazil after registering a U18 world record of 54.15 seconds in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

During her debut Games, she clocked 56.32 seconds in the heat round and advanced to the semifinal. However, as the next round approached, the now multiple-time Olympian suffered from self-doubt and lost the will to win. In her autobiography Far Beyond Gold, published in January 2024, the Olympian described the moment of self-questioning.

"I suddenly found myself without the need, or even the desire, to win," McLaughlin-Levrone wrote. "I found myself actually formulating full sentences inside my head as I endured one of the most physically grueling minutes in sports. 'It’s been such a long season. I made it further than I thought I would. No one is going to be mad at me. Just be done'. And just like that, I threw the race."

"Around the final turn, my patented final push to the finish line didn’t show up. I didn’t even try to find it," she added.

The sprinter fell short of qualifying for the final round after settling in fifth place in the semifinals.

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone went on to dominate the 400m hurdles event at next two editions of the Olympics after the Rio Games

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Photo via Getty Images)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone did not allow the Rio Olympic's setback to affect her in her next appearances. The American sprinter went on to cement her prospect by dominating the event in the next two Games in Tokyo and Paris.

At the 2020 Tokyo Games, McLaughlin-Levrone bagged her first Olympic medal in the 400m hurdles event by clocking a world record of 51.46 seconds. She defeated Dalilah Muhammad and Fenke Bol, who posted 51.58 and 52.03 seconds, respectively.

Four summers later at the Paris edition, McLaughlin-Levrone made waves by registering a world record for the sixth time in the 400m hurdles. The 25-year-old listed 50.37 seconds to surpass fellow teammate Anna Cockrell and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist, Bol.