Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone scratches 200m and 400m events from U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials despite 2024 dominance

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone declared that she will stick to 400m hurdles at the USATF Olympic Trials, which automatically strikes out 200m and 400m flat races from foresight. She is the current world record holder in the 400m hurdles, having set four records in 13 months.

In 2024, McLaughlin-Levrone opened her 100m hurdles and 200m season at the Oxy Invitational 2024. She clocked 10.71s in the 100m hurdles, just 0.06s away from her personal best set in 2021. She went on to claim the 200m win, running in a time of 22.38s.

Sydney Laughlin-Levrone ran the 400m hurdles at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet to claim a comfortable victory, clocking 52.70s. Her 400m win (48.75s) at the recently concluded NYC Grand Prix was just 0.05s off the American record, set by Sanya Richards Ross (48.70s) in 2006.

The next in line for her is the USATF Olympic Trials, slated for June 21 to 30. She recently declared that her goal is to compete in the 400m hurdles (via World Athletics Hub X post), the event that earned her the champion's title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

At the 2024 Los Angeles Grand Prix, the 24-year-old hurdles specialist clocked a new personal best time of 22.07s to nab the 200m win. Later, she candidly revealed her love for the sprint races to Olympic.com, saying:

"I feel good. I love the sprint races; love the shorter races."

However, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will not run the sprint races in the Olympiad, despite a stellar season so far.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was away from most of 2023 due to a lingering injury. She missed out on the 2023 World Athletics Championships, therefore striking out her chances to defend her title earned at the 2022 World Championships.

"A dream come true" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in her anticipation of Paris Olympics 2024

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone outpaced compatriot Dalilah Muhammad to clock 51.46s in the 400m hurdles, setting the world record. She wants to repeat the world record-breaking feat in Paris as well, but her strategies will be better than last time, as she revealed to NBC News.

"I just want to be better than I was in Tokyo. Improve upon myself. Paris is a dream come true. The stores, the roads, the cafes, all of it, it’s a dream.”

Alongside the anticipation for the marquee event, the hurdler is also excited to experience the Paris culture, mainly fashion, from the upfront.