“I let my emotions get the best of me”- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about breaking down while trying to qualify for Tokyo Olympics

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone recalled her moment while she was trying to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in her book, "Far Beyond Gold". The athlete also turned into an author on January 30, 2024.

McLaughlin-Levrone competed at the Paris Olympics, where she had a successful run, as she won two medals in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay races. In the former race, she clocked an impressive world record of 50.37s, besting Anna Cockrell and Femke Bol, among others. She also won another gold medal in the 4x400m relay races, where she and her team stood atop the podium.

The 2024 Olympics was McLaughlin-Levrone's third appearance at the sporting event and she made her debut at the 2016 Rio de Janerio Games. She has had different experiences in all three of them and has opened up about them in her memoir. In 2016, she was just a 16-year-old kid and was scared to compete at the trials, and had a completely different experience during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

She said that she wasn't scared as she was in 2016 and didn't call her father to tell him that she was scared. However, she said that a few things was the same like 2016, like her competitor, Dalilah Muhammad and then narrated the moment how she broke down while practicing for the 2020 Olympic trials.

"But some things were the exact same as 2016. Frist, Daliah Muhammad. She was the woman to beat five years ago. She was still at the top of her game in 2021- the one runner who had consistently beat me over top the last couple of years. And then there was the familiar anxiety. Despite my personal growth and my new faith, it still showed up in Eugene and tried to control that week," said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Giving a detailed information about her breakdown, she added:

"A few days before my first heat, I was having a tough practice. The breakthrough I'd had in Arizona seemed to elude me. I was frustrated at myself. Anxious. And I let my emotions get the best of me."

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone credited her faith for breaking Dalilah Muhammad's world record

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Brussels Diamond League (Image Source: Getty)

In an interview with LetsRundotcom, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about breaking Daliah Muhammad's 400m hurdles at the 2020 US track trials. She did not just qualify for the Tokyo Olympics but also broke the world record after clocking 51.90s and became the first woman to break the 52s barrier. She credited this victory to her faith and said:

"Dalilah is a great competitor but I think I was growing into my own person and I think the biggest difference this year is my faith, trusting God and trusting that process and knowing that he's in control of everything and as long as I put the hard work in, he's gonna carry me through and I really cannot do anything more but give the glory to him," Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone said [2:00 0nwards]

In the 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-levrone regsitered the third-fastest split in histiry a 47.71s.