"I felt I was cheating myself" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone makes honest admission about her fear of running sub-51 second race before Paris Olympics

The acclaimed hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has shared her thoughts on overcoming the mental barriers related to her performance after the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also expressed her views on the realization she had during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won a gold medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, and won the 400m hurdles in 50.68 seconds. The four-time Olympic gold medalist recalled the pain she suffered during the championship and how she was afraid of pushing herself to that competitive level.

During her appearance in “The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast” with her husband Andre Levrone Jr., the world record holder in 400-meter hurdles mentioned:

“Ever since Oregon 2022 and I ran the 50.6 for the first time, I've been afraid of feeling that kind of pain again and I felt like I'd almost been like cheating myself ever since because I was so scared of taking myself mentally back to that place,” she shared [29:36 onwards]

McLaughlin-Levrone continued,

“And I think this year I just had to realize, the Lord has given you a gift and it's not always going to be easy to do the things that he's placed in front of you and sometimes it's going to take discomfort and I think I had to mentally push past some of that fear. That's what I was reflecting on after the Olympics,” she added.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has four World Championship medals and one medal from the World Youth Championships. She is also a record holder at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 400 meters.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reflects on her 2024 Paris Olympics achievements

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Source: Getty

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won two Olympic gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles and 4×400-meter relay events respectively. The prominent athlete also secured a world record in the 400-meter hurdles in the 2024 Paris Olympics with 50.37 seconds.

The notable athlete broke the record for the sixth time and during her interview with the Olympics, she shared that she feels “blessed” and “excited” after achieving prestigious feats in the Paris Olympics. She mentioned that it was a "surreal moment" and added:

“An amazing, amazing opportunity. And I'm grateful.”

During her collegiate year, she represented the Kentucky Wildcats. She made her debut in the SEC Championship and broke the collegiate record in the 400-meter hurdles event, finishing the race in 52.75 seconds. During the 2017 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, the athlete surpassed the indoor distance medley relay world record alongside Emma Coburn, Brenda Martinez, and Jenny Simpson. In 2016, during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, McLaughlin-Levrone set a world youth best and world junior record in the 400-meter hurdles event.