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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made her feelings known about keeping her faith in God amid extreme pressure during the Olympic Games. The athlete is presently gearing up for the 2025 track season.
McLaughlin-Levrone had a successful 2024 season as she proved her billing at the Paris Olympics by winning two gold medals. She clinched her first gold medal in the 400m hurdles, where she clocked a world record of 50.37s. Following this, she won the 4x400m hurdles, where she and her team clocked 3:15.27 to stand atop the podium.
She is currently in her off-season and recently appeared in 'The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast' with her husband, Andre Levrone. The two spoke about various aspects of their lives, with McLaughlin-Levrone also talking about how she kept her focus on God. She was asked about how she kept her focus on Christ amid the pressure ahead of a race. To this, the world record holder replied: (18:20 onwards)
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"I think very few people ever understand the weight of the night before an Olympic final, when you are sitting in the bed and you're understanding that the whole world is going to be watching this one moment. A lot of people are actually praying that you lose and ultimately nobody else can help you once you step on that line except the Lord and I think in those moments, it's not even so much me think about winning, it's prayer for the lord to deliver me through this race, through this moment," said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
She further spoke about the significance of the Olympics and added:
" The amount of anxiety that just sits on you and weighs on you of you get one chance when that gun goes off, it's not like football where you get a next play. It is an opportunity that comes back once every four years and it's never promised to come back."
When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about her emotions before overcoming her fear with faith
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled facing adversities and anxiety before overcoming these fears with faith in her autobiography, 'Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith." In one of its excerpts, she revealed that during the initial stages of her life, she constantly needed reassurance and validation about herself from others. This led to her experiencing constant anxiety and depression.
"My main identity is that I’m a daughter of God. I belong to him. For a long time, I didn’t think much about honoring and serving him. I grew up going to church and always believed in God to some extent, but in my everyday life, I still wanted to control everything. And I looked to other people for my value and peace. What resulted was constant anxiety. Debilitating fear. And, at times, depression," said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Following this, she stated that by God's grace, she has now overcome her fears, and they do not consume her today. However, she revealed that she still fights with them at times, but they do not have any control over her emotions anymore.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is expected to start her 2025 track season by competing at Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track League, where she was one of the first athletes to get signed.
