"You can’t make me go"-When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke to her mother about not wanting to participate at Olympics after being crushed by pressure

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once opened up about speaking to her mother about not wanting to compete at the Olympics after qualifying in the women's 400m hurdles. The American athlete recalled being under severe pressure for competing alongside some of the fastest athletes in the world at the major games scheduled to be held in Rio.

McLaughlin-Levrone had emerged as one of the top junior quarter-milers in the country in 2016 and participated in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at the age of 16. She finished third in the finals of the women's 400m hurdles, ultimately earning a spot in the U.S. Olympic team alongside Dalilah Muhammad and Ashley Spencer.

She spoke about the moments that followed her qualification in her book 'Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith'. The Olympic athlete revealed how she was asked by reporters about the pressure she faces to compete in the pinnacle games. After being overwhelmed by the situation, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled feeling no emotions as people congratulated her ahead of the medal ceremony at the Olympic trials.

"At that point, I was determined not to go to Rio. And I was ready to say it out loud to someone, though preferably not on TV. The first familiar face I saw after the race was my mom. She met me in a processing tent, where family and friends had gathered either to console or to congratulate the athletes," she wrote.

"When I saw my mom, I didn’t break into tears of joy or start gushing about how I’d accomplished my dream. Instead, as we waited in the tent for the medal ceremony, surrounded by dozens of people or so, I loudly announced, “I’m not going. You can’t make me go. I already talked to Dad about it,” she added.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on being unable to perform in her debut Olympic appearance

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone competes in the 400m hurdles during 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 - Day Six - Source: Getty

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone missed out on the opportunity to compete in the finals of the 400m hurdles at the Rio Olympics after finishing fifth in the semi-finals. The American athlete wrote about her Olympic debut in her book and revealed that she wanted her season to end as soon as possible.

The American expressed her disappointment in not being able to put forward her best performance to qualify for the finals.

"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. It's not something you want to talk about, because you don't want people to be mad at you, but it was really my own thing," she said.

Furthermore, she decided to take forward the lessons that she learned from the experience of competing at the biggest stage of the sport as she continued her pursuits to achieve greatness.