"It was grueling" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about her struggles with new training in University

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once opened up about the challenges she faced with the new training regime at the University of Kentucky. She attended the University for a year in 2017-18 after signing the letter of intent in 2016.

In her autobiography Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, published in January 2024, she recalled the shift in her training and the challenges she went through while adjusting to them.

Coached by Edrick Floreal at the University of Kentucky, the training had no off days; with technique and form-based running on Mondays and Tuesdays, strengthening and mobility on Wednesdays, again technique and form-based on Thursdays, and sprints and hurdles on Saturdays. Sundays were reserved for body treatment.

"Training was the second reason the 2017–18 school year was the hardest yet. It was grueling. felt like I had no idea what it meant to even really run until I came to Kentucky," McLaughlin Levrone wrote.

"With Coach Flo, there were no days off. We had to be in the weight room multiple mornings a week by 6 or 7 a.m. (a brutal wake-up call for any college kid), " she added. "They pushed me harder than I’d ever been pushed, until my body was burned out and exhausted."

During her time at the University, McLaughlin Levrone registered a world junior 400-meter record at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. She also earned the NCAA and SEC 400-meter hurdle championships the same year.

---

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone becomes 44th athlete to win Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year Award

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

Last week, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was announced as the 44th annual Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year award by the Lexington Herald-Leader. The honor was determined by a vote of 138 current and former media members who cast their votes from the commonwealth.

The multiple-time Olympian was honored with the award for her heroics at the Paris Games, where she secured two Olympic gold medals. At the Paris Games, McLaughlin-Levrone registered a world for the sixth time in the 400m hurdles to dominate her pet event.

McLaughlin-Levrone posted 50.37 seconds to outpace her fellow teammate Anna Cockrell and her fiercest rival Femke Bol, who clocked 51.87 and 52.15 seconds, respectively. Further, the 25-year-old went on to secure a gold medal with Team USA in the 4x400m relay event.