Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone makes feelings known for Dalilah Muhammad as Olympic gold medalist announces retirement

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recently paid tribute to fellow teammate and Olympian Dalilah Muhammad as the latter announced her retirement during a press conference at the Grand Slam Track. McLaughlin-Levrone is in Kingston, Jamaica, to compete at Michael Johnson's athletics league Grand Slam Track, which will kick off on April 4, 2025.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Muhammad won a gold medal for the USA squad at the Tokyo Games in the women's 4x400m relay event with Athing Mu and Allyson Felix. Muhammad displayed her impressive talent in the 400m hurdles circuit and set the foundation for upcoming athletes to aim higher. She broke the long-standing record of 52.34 seconds, which was clocked in 2003.

Muhammad registered her first world record of the event in the USA in 2019 by clocking 52.20s. She then bettered her time by posting 52.16s in the same year. Her world record was later bettered by McLaughlin-Levrone six times. In the interview, McLaughlin-Levrone praised her former teammate and expressed her gratitude for motivating athletes like herself.

“Dalilah, you truly did just change the game for all of us," McLaughlin-Levrone said. "You know just seeing you break that world record after so long of it being there, it inspired all of us. And so it’s truly because of just the amazing talent that you have that we are where we are now.”

McLaughlin-Levrone and Muhammad will lock horns at the Grand Slam Track in the women's long hurdles, competing in the 400m event.

"Going to continue to see what's possible" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone focuses on reducing her 400m hurdles time after registering six world records

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

So far in her career, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has registered a world record in the 4x400m hurdles event six times. She posted her last world record of 50.37 seconds at the 2024 Paris Games. In a recent interview, she opened up on her goal of bettering her time further and expressed her excitement for the 2028 Games that will be held in the USA.

“I think track and field right now is in such a unique place where you're seeing athletes just do unbelievable things every year. And it's just so exciting to be a part of that, especially bringing it back home for LA. I'm just going to continue to see what's possible, figure out what I need to work on and fix and see how much lower we can get those times." (via Olympics.com)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be seen competing in the 400m hurdles at the Grand Slam Track on Friday at 7:46 p.m. ET.