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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once reflected on the fear and pressure she experienced growing up. She said she was constantly worried about disappointing her parents and felt a constant need to earn the approval of those around her.
Even minor mistakes caused her intense guilt and anxiety. As a result, she constantly felt the need to confess everything to relieve that burden.
In her memoir Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, released in January 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke about how fear and the internal pressure she placed on herself impacted her severely. She wrote:
“Fear had always supercharged my conscience. If I did something that I knew my parents wouldn’t approve of, I couldn’t keep it from them. Even minor mistakes. If I was watching TV at my house or a friend’s and something came on the screen that I knew my parents wouldn’t approve, I would feel guilty and ashamed, and I couldn’t let go of the anxiety until I’d admitted what had happened to my parents.”
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“I feared correction. Being told no or that I was wrong cut me to the core. I wanted people to always be pleased with me. When something came about that could derail that, it ate at me,” the 25-year-old also mentioned.
The American hurdles star then added in her memoir that she had a mistaken view of God's nature. McLaughlin-Levrone further shared how her perspective on God has changed since, which has helped her embrace self-acceptance.
As for her track and field career, the four-time Olympic gold medalist has kicked off her 2025 season, competing in the Grand Slam Track series, founded by Michael Johnson.
She has already earned $200,000 from combined winnings from the Miami and Kingston Grand Slam Track meets, where she competed in the long hurdles events, including the 400m and 400m hurdles.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opens up on crowd support at Grand Slam Track Miami
Following her impressive 400m hurdles performance at Grand Slam Track Miami, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was questioned on how it felt when she walked out and received a loud cheer from the crowd when her name was announced. She responded to this during the post-event interview, saying (0:39 onwards):
“Yeah, it's so fun. I think this is what track and field needs, so it's exciting to be a part of it and to be able to have it here in the [United] States. We felt it in Jamaica [Kingston meet] for sure, so now to have it here in Florida is really cool.”
After winning the long hurdles race groups at both the Miami and Kingston meetings, McLaughlin-Levrone has confirmed that she will switch to the short hurdles group for the upcoming Philadelphia meet of the league. This means she will be running the 100m and 100m hurdles races at the Philadelphia slam, scheduled from May 31 to June 1.
