"Sucks the fun out of it"- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about competing on the big stage with the involvement of money and accolades

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke about competing on the big stage with the involvement of several factors like money and accolades. The American athlete revealed how such factors take out the joy of competing as they add pressure on the athlete.

McLaughlin-Levrone, coming from a family of athletes, got into track and field at a very young age. She spoke about her childhood in her book 'Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith,' revealing how her parents encouraged her to be active and develop great running mechanics as well as techniques as a young athlete and never forced her into the sport.

The American expressed how she enjoyed competing as a high school athlete, however, a lot of things changed for her after she qualified for the Rio Olympics at the age of 16. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the youngest American athlete to qualify for the Olympics as part of the U.S. Olympic track team since 1980, which just added to the pressure of competing on such a global stage.

She spoke about her experience as well as the shift in her mindset from being a high school athlete to competing on the biggest stage of the sport.

"Making the Olympic team changed things for me. Once you get on the big stage, there are medals and titles and money involved, and it sucks the fun out of it. That’s when it started to shift toward a more professional mindset for sure,” she said.

Furthermore, she expressed her thoughts on competing alongside some of the best athletes in the world.

"I got so fearful and nervous and anxious while I was there, so I didn’t perform to the best of my ability,” she reflects. “I had never been at a high-level competition like that before, and I’m happy I got the experience, so I could mature over the next four, five years, and come back better,” she added. (as quoted by L'Officiel)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on being unable to put up her best performance at the Rio Olympics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship - Source: Getty

In her book, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke about her Olympic debut. The American athlete revealed that she was unable to put forward her best performance in the semi-finals due to anxiety and it felt as if she deliberately sat out of the finals.

"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. It was very hard," she wrote.

McLaughlin-Levrone also said she was not physically or mentally ready to compete on the global stage in 2016.