Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone might solely have simply turned 25, however standing on the beginning line on the Olympic stadium is nothing new for her. The New Jersey native—who’s already damaged 5 world information—is returning for her third Olympic Video games in Paris with hopes of including one other gold (or two) to her medal depend.

As a 16-year-old, McLaughlin-Levrone broke the 400-meter hurdle world junior report with a time of 54.15 on the 2016 US Olympic Trials. That punched her ticket to the Rio Video games, the place she made it to the semifinals. She returned even stronger on the Tokyo Video games; she gained the 400-meter hurdles, outkicking American teammate Dalilah Muhammad by 0.12 seconds. She was additionally a member of the gold-winning 4×400-meter relay staff in Tokyo with Muhammad, Alison Felix, and Athing Mu.

And within the lead-up to the Paris Video games, McLaughlin-Levrone continued to convey it. She set the brand new world report within the 400-meter hurdles—a blistering 50.65 seconds—on the 2024 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, on June 30, and is trying to earn back-to-back golds in Paris.

There’s extra to McLaughlin-Levrone than what we see on the observe, although. She’s outspoken about her religion, has an enchanting household background, and he or she’s on a mission to push the game of sprinting additional. Earlier than watching her go for gold on August 8, listed here are 9 issues to know concerning the world’s quickest 400-meter hurdler.

1. McLaughlin-Levrone comes from a household of gifted runners.

Everybody in McLaughlin-Levrone’s fast household has competed on the observe. Her dad, Willie McLaughlin, was a three-time NCAA All-American within the 400-meter and almost made the Olympic staff himself in 1984. He was inducted into the Manhattan Faculty Athletic Corridor of Fame in 1997. Mary McLaughlin, Sydney’s mother, ran on the boys’ observe staff in highschool, as Individuals reviews.

McLaughlin-Levrone and her three siblings had an lively childhood. “Monitor and discipline has at all times been a part of our lives,” McLaughlin-Levrone stated in an interview with the Olympic Channel Podcast. However it wasn’t all working on a regular basis. “Our mother and father allow us to select what we wished to do,” she stated, and he or she dabbled in basketball, soccer, and dance, however, she added, “for all of us, observe type of stood out.”

Naturally, she was fueled by some wholesome sibling competitors. Her brother Taylor ran Division I observe on the College of Michigan and gained silver on the World Junior under-20 championships within the 400-meter hurdles (apparently a preferred occasion among the many McLaughlins).

2. She was impressed by Sanya Richard-Ross.

McLaughlin-Levrone caught the Olympic bug when she was 9 years outdated. She distinctly remembers watching Sanya Richards-Ross compete on the 2008 Beijing Video games, the place the American sprinter gained bronze within the 400-meter and closed an enormous hole within the 4×400-meter relay for gold. As McLaughlin-Levrone stated on the podcast, “I bear in mind turning to my mother and being like, ‘I wish to do this.’”

3. Qualifying for her first Olympics was a shock.

By center college, it was clear that McLaughlin-Levrone was forward of different runners her age, however the extent of her expertise wasn’t absolutely on show till her first Olympic trials forward of the 2016 Video games in Rio. “Once we went to the trials in 2016, we had been actually simply going for the expertise,” McLaughlin-Levrone informed the Olympic Channel Podcast. Simply 16 on the time, she remembers considering that there was “no manner” she would qualify for Staff USA within the 400-meter hurdles, which might require no less than a third-place end on the Trials. She didn’t simply qualify for the staff—she additionally beat the fourth-place finisher by over half a second (which is critical in a 54-second race!).

4. The College of Kentucky was her dwelling away from dwelling for a yr.

After her standout highschool profession, McLaughlin-Levrone had a selection between going straight to the professionals or working within the NCAA. She determined to attend the College of Kentucky in 2017, the place she spent a yr she described as “very pivotal” for her athletic profession. She was uncovered to extra intense coaching and better expectations from coaches, which she stated, “actually gave me an inside look into what it’s wish to be an expert,” as she informed the Olympic Channel Podcast.

5. Sweet is her race gas of selection.

A self-proclaimed “sweet connoisseur,” McLaughlin-Levrone credit no less than a few of her pace to a prerace meal of gummy bears, Jolly Ranchers, and Starbursts. “If there’s sweet in my home, it’s not staying for greater than 24 hours,” she stated in an interview with GQ. If solely we may all break world information on a bag of gummy bears, McLaughlin-Levrone can be going through much more competitors.

6. Add “printed creator” to her accolades.

As if Olympic medals aren’t sufficient of an accomplishment, McLaughlin-Levrone additionally launched her first e-book in January. The e-book, Far Past Gold: Operating from Worry to Religion, describes how McLaughlin-Levrone managed the worry and psychological well being struggles she faces as an expert runner. In it, she discusses how her religion helped her come to phrases together with her identification and cope with perfectionism, anxiousness, and impostor syndrome.