“I don’t want to look at you, I’m scared” – When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about feeling out of place among Olympic legends at Rio 2016

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once spoke about feeling out of place among Olympic greats during the Rio 2016 Games. Just days after her 17th birthday, McLaughlin headed to Rio to make her Olympic debut.

In 2016, she made the U.S. Olympic team in the 400m hurdles, becoming the youngest American track and field athlete to qualify since 1980. Though she didn’t reach the podium in her first Olympic appearance, she made a remarkable comeback at the 2020 Games, winning two gold medals in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay.

In a 2024 interview on the Unfiltered Waters podcast, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looked back on her Olympic Village experience at the Rio Games and shared:

“It was so funny, like taking the elevator with the gymnasts, and I’m just like, ‘I don’t want to look at you , I’m scared!’ I was just looking up like this. Laurie Hernandez and Simone Biles , and I’m like, I feel so uncomfortable right now. You know, they’re doing great things, and I’m just trying to get back to my room. It was so funny.” (45:45 onwards)

It’s so cool just seeing all these different athletes from all over come together... people that you grew up watching from different sports, and they’re standing right across from you. That really is the coolest part of the Village, "she added.

Currently, Sydney McLaughlin-Levronere remains undefeated in the 400m hurdles and has broken the world record in the event multiple times. She currently holds the record, which she set at the Paris Games.

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When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about nearing burnout before the biggest race of her career

Prefontaine Classic - Source: Getty

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has also opened up about the mental toll leading up to her Olympic debut. In her memoir, Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, released in January 2024, she reflected on the period after the Olympic Trials and how close she came to burnout.

“Those five weeks between the trials and the Olympics were the closest I’d come to burnout since I asked my dad if I could step back from running. For the first time since middle school, I desperately wanted a break. I didn’t want to see a track or compete, especially not in the Olympics,” she wrote.

Despite that exhaustion, McLaughlin-Levrone competed in Rio, advancing to the semifinals and finishing fifth with a time of 56.22 seconds. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Dalilah Muhammad won gold in the 400m hurdles, Sara Slott Petersen took silver and Ashley Spencer claimed bronze. Four years later, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone defeated Muhammad at the Tokyo 2020 Games, winning gold and setting a new world record in the event.