"My identity is not whether I win or lose" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gets real about how her faith helps to instill confidence on track

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared that winning or losing doesn't decide her identity and hence, she tries to be at peace with all her performances. She also revealed that a lot of her confidence on the track comes from her faith in God.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke the 400m hurdles world record six times, has been out of the competitive track since running the invitational races at the 2024 Diamond League. Now, she gears up for the Grand Slam Track league in April, this year.

In a conversation with GST host and former Olympian, Michael Johnson, the four-time Olympic gold medalist was asked about her pre-race method of calming her nerves. She noted that her faith in God played a major role, making her believe that winning or losing wouldn't decide her identity.

"I would say my faith is a huge part of it just that knowing that my identity is not in whether I win or lose this race first and foremost gives me so much peace to just go out there and use the gift that I've been given."

McLaughlin-Levrone further shared that she focused on giving her best as soon as she stepped on the track, playing her race plan on a loop in her mind.

"But ultimately I think in the moment, it's really just everybody says I look so serious, I'm not waving at the camera I'm locked in, because I know I'm there to do and I'm really focused on executing and giving my all to everything...I'm talking to myself, I'm repeating my race plan in my head, the night before, I'm visualizing a lot of prayer lot of just spending time."

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was also named the most dominant American track and field athlete of the Games by USATF after her Paris Olympics campaign.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed her way of managing cheat days amid preparation for the 2025 track season

Sydney MvLaughlin-Levrone at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 - Athletics - (Source: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been one of the most dominant female track athletes since her rise to recognition at the Tokyo Olympics. Maintaining a strict diet plan and training schedule, the 25-year-old revealed how her husband, Andre Levrone, suggested that she should cheat meals in small amounts every day rather than binge eating junk on one particular day.

"We do like the occasional sweets, but like the healthy sweets. Any day can really be a cheat day to be honest, it's just a matter of how much are we cheating? Sometimes I go extreme and I'm like, I'm not going to eat anything bad and he's (Andre Levrone) like don't do that cuz then you're going to start binging one day so we just do little doses," she said.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone racked up gold medals in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay event at the Paris Olympics. In honor of her achievements, the New Jersey-born won the women’s track athlete of the year at the World Athletics Awards 2024.