Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recently addressed the criticism she receives for not competing very often. The reigning Olympic champion gave her honest opinion about the scrutiny she faces, while explaining her decision to race less frequently than other athletes.
McLaughlin-Levrone is widely regarded as one of the best 400m hurdlers of all-time. Over the course of her career, she has won a World title, two Olympic golds, and reset the World record a handful of times. However, despite being the best of the best, the American is known to be extremely selective about her races, and often skips international competitions like the Diamond League meetings in favor of domestic competitions as well as national championships and trials.
Speaking to Citius Magazine ahead of her season debut at the Grand Slam Track, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone addressed the scrutiny she faces for not competing often. The hurdler explained that while she was grateful people wanted her to be in the spotlight, she had to prioritise her health, saying,
“I do race and there’s athletes who race even less than I do. I think the reality is, (while) I appreciate the sport for wanting me to be in the spotlight, but at the same time as an athlete, for my mental health, for my physical health, I have to make decisions that people are not going to be okay with. And I have to be okay with that.”
She went on to add that she tries to deliver her best performances when she does compete, but would be unable to bring her lightning fast times on the track each time if she started racing more frequently.
“I love being able to put the sport on display. I try to give the best performances I can whenever I step on the track, but you can’t run a world record every time. My body can’t do that, my mind can’t do that. So I can run more races, (and) then people are going to be upset with me because they’re not fast times. I have to live with that and that’s okay. Ultimately I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to represent the sport. I try to do it to the best of my ability but the reality is you can’t please everybody.”
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set to commence her 2025 season on April 4
In late 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone announced that she had signed with Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track league. Now, the American is gearing up to make her 2025 season debut in Kingston, at the first of the four GST meets scheduled for this year.
On Friday evening, at 6:46 PM local time, McLaughlin-Levrone will compete in the 400m hurdles, her very first race of the season. She will follow this up with an appearance in the 400m flat on Sunday at 4:21 PM local time.
After Kingston, McLaughlin-Levrone and the rest of the Grand Slam Track racers will head to Miami for the league’s second meet, before competing in Philadelphia and Los Angeles to wrap things up. Overall, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s focus for the season will be the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which are scheduled to be held in September.
Edited by Pratham K Sharma
