"I robbed myself of an opportunity"- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up on failing to advance to the finals at Rio Olympics

Last year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone talked about "robbing" herself of the opportunity to compete in the Rio Olympics 400m hurdles finals due to anxiety.

After her 2016 heartbreak, McLaughlin-Levrone lifted the champion's trophy at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics and set the world record. The 25-year-old recently concluded her Paris Olympic campaign, winning the 400m hurdles in a world record time of 50.37s. She also ran the second leg of the women's 4x400m relay in 47.71s to contribute to the quartet's gold-winning (3:15.27) performance.

McLaughlin-Levrone thus successfully defended her double gold podium achieved at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the New Jersey-born also competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she failed to achieve a podium finish.

In her book 'Beyond Gold: Fleeing Fear to Faith,' published in late 2023, the four-time Olympic medalist detailed her experience of finishing slow in the 400m hurdles heats and missing the finals due to anxiety.

The then-16-year-old was in a fix when her anxious self wanted to give up, while the competitor in her refused to.

"I was really afraid of what was going to happen. It seemed like the end of the world if I didn't get to the top of the podium. Honestly, I robbed myself of an opportunity. I don't know what would have happened, but I really didn't want to find out. I left Rio with the feeling that I had left something behind," said McLaughlin-Levrone.

She added:

"It was very hard. It's not something you want to talk about, because you don't want people to be mad at you, but it was really my own thing. I knew I wasn't ready for that moment. I wasn't mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually fit to have made that final."

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been inducted into the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone after winning the invitational races at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme Brussels - Source: Getty

After her Paris Olympic exploits, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returned to her alma mater, the University of Kentucky, to be inducted into the 2024 University of Kentucky Hall of Fame. The Olympian penned a heartfelt note for her ex-college, where she spent a year as an NCAA athlete, set the 400m junior world record, and prepared to face the elite life.

"Once a wildcat, always a wildcat! Beyond grateful to have been inducted into the 2024 class of the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame. Definitely bled blue while I was here, so much growth and adversity that led me to where I am now," Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's Instagram caption read.

She added:

"Thank you to the UK fan base for always showing such love and treating me like family. Much love! Go cats."

The Olympian recently competed in the 200m and 400m invitational races at the Brussels Diamond League. Though she wasn't awarded the Diamond League trophy, she received a bouquet and a plate of waffles and desserts.