“First few days were rougher than rough”- When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up on battling illness in isolation ahead of Olympic debut

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once opened up about falling ill and battling sickness alone ahead of her Olympic debut at Rio 2016. The American hurdler caught a cold, possibly during her flight to Rio, where she was seated between passengers who were sneezing and coughing throughout the journey.

She shared how she developed a fever and a nasty cold shortly after arriving and received a medical checkup at the Olympic Village. The illness soon began to take a toll on her body, making her physically weak just days before her first Olympic appearance.

In her memoir Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, McLaughlin-Levrone recalled how the sickness kept her confined to her room. She spent most of her time eating snacks, watching Netflix and talking with her parents and friends and couldn’t explore the village. She wrote:

“The first few days were rougher than rough. With my immune system trying to fight the infection, I was exhausted all the time. I hardly left my room, which meant I didn’t get the proper nutrition or the tour of the village to know where everything was.”

“The sickness kept me quarantined in my room. It wasn’t that anyone told me to stay there; it was that I didn’t have the energy even to get out of bed. I spent most of each day sleeping, watching Netflix, texting friends, and, when I could, updating my parents on my health.”

Despite falling ill initially, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone performed brilliantly in the 400m hurdles during her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, finishing as a semi-finalist. Now 25, she has become one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time, holding the world record in the same event and earning four gold medals from her Tokyo and Paris Olympics participation.

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone makes her feelings known on mindset required to stay at top of her sport

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at Grand Slam Track - Philadelphia - Source: Getty

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reflected on the mindset and discipline required to stay at the top of her sport. Her mindset of constantly pushing her limits, never settling and understanding that her competitors are working hard to reach her level keep her motivated. During a May 2025 interview with The Athletic, McLaughlin-Levrone spoke about this approach, stating:

“There’s always something I can be doing better. There’s always someone striving to be where you are. There’s days where I’m more motivated than others. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut or it can become monotonous, but I get to do what I love every day and I get to quite literally race a clock.”

She further shared during the interview that she finds joy in challenging herself and discovering new ways to improve. While she acknowledges the reality of strong competition, she also mentioned that her primary focus is on being better than the version of herself from the day before, not just on winning races.