Holding six of the fastest times in the all-time hurdles list is insane. Accomplishing all of those feats at just the age of 25 is just a different level of greatness in itself. Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone crafted records that will probably stand the test of time because of how athletically gifted she is. Her story starts from New Jersey and the greatness in her track and field record often speaks for itself.

What happens when two stars have a child?

From the point of birth, Sydney looked like she was always destined to find her way to track and field. She was born to Mary Neumeister McLaughlin and Willie McLaughlin on the seventh of August in 1999 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. If those names sound familiar, it is because her father was a three-time All-American and her mom was half-miler. Mary, in particular, was so athletic that she ran for the Cardinal High School men’s team before meeting her future husband on the track at Manhattan College.

Sydney took after her parents and the amount of talent she had was overwhelmingly obvious. At Union Catholic Regional High School, she became the first track and field star to win Gatorade Player of the Year twice. Her siblings Morgan and Taylor were already making names for themselves in the sport too, they attended St. Peter’s University and the University of Michigan respectively. Ryan, their youngest sibling, proves just how athletic they are as he is the fifth member of the family to win a track title in New Jersey.

Too young for stardom

Sydney was already recording world-best numbers by 2014. She dominated the national junior championships’ 400-meter by recording an insane 55.63 seconds but was unfortunately too young to qualify for the IAAF World Junior Championships. Nonetheless, she made the most out of the year and just won gold at the World Youth Championships instead.

By 2016, Sydney’s medal collection started to grow by a lot. She was already old enough to join the IAAF World Junior Championships and bagged a gold medal there. On her road to the Olympic Trials, she prepared herself by winning the New Balance national outdoor high school championships. She then placed third at the trials and set a world youth best record while qualifying for Team USA.

Sydney made her way to the Rio Olympics as the youngest athlete in Team USA track and field history since 1980. However, she fell short of the final after only finishing fifth in the semifinal heat.

Back for Revenge

The new goal was to give everything and win at the Tokyo Olympics. A big boost to her career happened when she joined the University of Kentucky and competed in the SEC. She easily won the conference title and shattered the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field record for the 400-meter hurdles. There was not much to do for her in college after that as she decided to go professional. New Balance immediately gave her a deal and Bob Kersee took her under his wing.

She ended up winning gold at the Diamond League and the 2019 World Championships in Doha for the 400-meter and the 4x400. Sydney fell short of the 400-meter title at the World Championships and had to settle for silver. It became very clear that she was ready for the Tokyo Olympics despite it being pushed back a year due to the pandemic.

When 2021 rolled around, she dominated the competition. Sydney won gold in the 400-meter hurdles and led Team USA to a triumph in the 4x400 relay. By the end of the year, she also got married to Andre Levrone Jr. It was a very eventful year for her.

Replicating dominance

There was nothing more she could do than just add to her long list of accolades and shatter her own records. Not to mention, McLaughlin-Levrone earned endorsements from New Balance, Tag Heuer, and Gatorade which raised her net worth up to $2 million.

She delivered by just improving herself and crafting new challenges. She broke her own world record twice, once at the USATF Championships and the other at the World Championships. Her dominant momentum was cut short due to a knee injury which forced her to withdraw in the 2023 World Championships.

Sydney fully recovered and headed straight for the Olympic trials. To no one’s surprise, she broke her own world record and qualified for Paris. She won gold in the 4x400 relay and 400-meter at the Olympics. The superstar is only waiting for the start of the Grand Slam Track league in 2025 before she puts herself in a position to dominate again. After all, she has set all these insane records at just 25 years old.