Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's coach cites reasons for skipping major meets in Europe ahead of the Olympics

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's coach Bob Kersee has revealed the reason for the absence of his athletes from European meets. Along with McLaughlin-Levrone, Kersee has developed numerous elite athletes, including Allyson Felix, Florence Griffith Joyner, Athing Mu, and his wife Jackie Joyner Kersee, to name a few.

Kersee bagged three Olympic gold medals and registered a world record in the heptathlon event, which remains unbroken today. He has trained McLaughlin-Levrone, a two-time Olympic medalist and a world record holder in the 400m hurdles. Griffith Joyner's 100m and 200m world records set in 1988 still stand untouched.

Mu, who secured a gold medal in the 800m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics started training under Kersee in Los Angeles in 2024 ahead of the Paris Olympics. The middle-distance runner recently withdrew from the 2024 Prefontaine Classic held in Eugene

During a recent interview with Citius Mag, Kersee opened up on reasons for skipping athletics meets in Europe. He acknowledged the logistical challenges, including long travel times, language barriers, and dietary changes.

With the 2024 Paris Olympics drawing near, he also stated the challenges of maintaining athletes' health and performance during their travel.

“I like America, I like to race at home as much as possible, " he said. "I get criticized for not going to Europe, but I coach United States athletes to put them on teams. In Europe, you can go to Italy, France, Germany, same thing like we can go to Atlanta, New York, so you got the competition. But for us, it’s a 14 hour, 7 hour time difference, language change, and food change."

"So its kind of difficult for us to go to Europe, base camp over there, and then still come back home and make our American team and stay healthy," he added.

"That’s the number one event" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's coach reveals his focus on preparing the Olympian for the 400m hurdles

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone crosses the finish line to win the women's 200m during the 2024 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA's Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's coach Bob Kersee recently revealed the aim of preparing the Olympian for the 400m hurdles ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

The 400m hurdles is McLaughlin-Levrone's pet event. She has consistently improved in the event, including setting a world record in 2022. During a recent interview with NBC Sports, Kersee opened up on his goal of preparing her for the 400m hurdles for the Paris Olympics.

“I think Sydney’s love is the 400m hurdles, and so that’s the number one event,” Kersee said. “My job is to make sure that she gets ready for the one that she wants to do the most.”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recently competed in her first 400m hurdles of the 2024 Olympic season at the 2024 Edwin Moses Legends Meet after 22 months.

She secured the top place in the lineup after registering a world lead of 52.70 seconds, defeating Smith Michelle and Claxton Grace, who posted 55.96 and 56.26 seconds, respectively.