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Two-time Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone withdrew from the 2023 World Athletics Championships due to a knee injury.
The 24-year-old emerged as a dominant athlete in the 400m hurdles event with a stunning win last year. However, for the ongoing competition, the athlete had decided to step out of her comfort zone and make her debut in a new event.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone developed a stronghold in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay events at the previous world championships. However, at the 2023 US Track and Field Championship in July, the athlete stunned the world by claiming a terrific win in the flat 400m event.
McLaughlin-Levrone switched on her beast mode, clocking 48.74 seconds. That convinced the American athlete and coach Bobby Kersee to debut in the 400m event at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
However, the athlete’s expectations were shattered when she experienced a minor knee injury that forced her to prioritize between the World Championship and the 2024 Paris Olympics. So a week before the ongoing championship, the athlete informed her fans on her Instagram story:
"I am sad to share that I must withdraw from this year's World Championships meet in Budapest. After consulting with my doctors and coaches, I need to take care of a minor knee issue so that I can be fully healthy for next year's Paris Olympics. I look forward to seeing everyone back on the track soon."
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s athletic career
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone comes from an athletic family. Besides being good at academics, she has been running since her student life.
She appeared in her first national junior championships in 2014 and achieved the second position in the 400m hurdles.
In 2016, she became the youngest athlete since 1980 to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track team, setting a world record of 54.15s at the U.S. Olympic Trials. At her first Olympics attempt in Rio de Janeiro, McLaughlin-Levrone claimed a fifth-place finish in the semi-final.
The American athlete won the silver medal in the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships, behind gold medallist Dalilah Muhammad. A year later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clinched the gold medal, defeating Muhammad, running a world record time of 51.46.
Besides the 400m hurdles, she also won gold medal in the 4x400m relay event.
Recently, when McLaughlin tried her first attempt at the flat 400m race, her timing of 48.74s came close to beating legend Sanya Richards-Ross’ record from 2006, falling short by just 0.04 seconds.
