"I watched everyone except for Simone Biles"- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke on meeting athletes on her Olympic debut in Rio 2016

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of track and field. She made her Olympic debut at the Rio Games in 2016 aged 17.

While the Rio Olympics turned out to be one of the rare few disappointments in the otherwise illustrious career, it was a unique experience for her. She also recalled how she felt when meeting some of the famous athletes at the 2016 Games.

In a Skype interview with the website Mile Split USA, dating back to 2016, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recounted her experience at the Rio Olympics. When asked about getting star-struck by prominent athletes, she said,

"I don’t get really star struck, I mean….. But I got to meet Justin Gatlin, he was really nice, uh and Francena McCorory, and I was in the same kind of suite as Natasha Hastings, and Andre de Grasse, so that was pretty cool.” [00:03 onwards, 2nd clip]

When asked if she met any non track and field athletes, the American sprinter further replied,

"Um, yes, not really as much the US, but I mean, umm, some German taekwondo people, and it were pretty cool, so, yeah,...... I watched everyone except for Simone Biles, but I met Laurie Hernandez…”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone participated in the women's 400m hurdles event at the Rio Olympics. She made it to the semifinals, but the inexperience got the better of her. She finished fifth in the first heats of the semifinals, with a timing of 56.22 seconds.

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on failing to qualify for the finals at the Rio Olympics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Tokyo Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's elimination in the semifinals of the women's 400m hurdles at the Rio Olympics in 2016 is one of the rarest moments when she failed to make a significant impact.

In her autobiography titled 'Beyond Gold: Fleeing Fear to Faith', the American sprinter recounted how she felt after losing the race. She said,

"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."

In a recent appearance at 'The Jennifer Hudson Show', Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone also mentioned that her inexperience might be the reason behind her failure. In her words,

"At Rio I was 17 years old, and was thrown into the world stage not knowing what to expect. I think I've learned so much since then, that now I can understand what it takes to compete at this level. So I think that experience, and Tokyo as well, just kind of prepared me for Paris. This was my first full, real Olympics, I feel like. So I was ready for it.”

Since then, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone hardly looked back. She went on to break several records, beginning from the junior world record in the 400m to breaking the NCAA record for the 400m hurdles with a timing of 52.75 seconds in 2018.

At the US Olympic trials for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (2021), she broke the world record for the first time, breaking the 52-second barrier, to clock 51.90 seconds. Since then, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has broken the world record six times in this event, including her performances at the Tokyo Olympics and the Paris Olympics.