"I was just bawling my eyes out"- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opens up about high school race that left her in tears

American track athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared her thoughts on the first time she cried after a race. This came amid her Grand Slam Track event in Miami, where she emerged victorious in the long hurdles category.

She won both her 400m hurdles and 400m flat to bag 24 points and repeat the performance she produced at the Jamaican capital a couple of weeks back. Andrenette Knight was the closest contender to McLaughlin-Levrone, and earned 14 points.

Amid this successful start to her season, McLaughlin-Levrone rolled back the years to her high school days when she got emotional after losing in a race. Speaking in an interview for GST's YouTube channel, the 400m hurdles Olympic champion shared that during a 400m indoor race in high school, she cried immensely after finishing fourth in the event.

She also mentioned that she was very afraid before the race, courtesy of one of her skilled seniors. She said (via Grand Slam Track):

"There's two, I can't even count the first one because I was seven. High School, Meet of Champions Indoors. It was a 400m and I was racing like this senior girl who's really really fast and I was like freaking out all week because I was a freshman and I was like, 'oh my gosh, I'm so scared of her' and I like threw up before the race. I didn't even get second, I got like fourth and I was just like balling my eyes out and I was like, 'never again'." (1:37 onwards)

McLaughlin-Levrone spent her high school years at the Union Catholic Regional High School, where she competed in several meets and also became a Gatorade Track and Field Athlete twice during this stint.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shares the reason behind her serious outlook on the track

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Image via: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shed light on the reason behind her serious character on the track before her races.

During a talk with Michael Johnson, Mclaughlin-Levrone revealed that she doesn't pose for the camera while on track because she is too focused on the consequences of the race and achieving the goal that she aspires. She said (via Upfront Ventures, 8:09 onwards):

"Everybody says I look so serious. I am not waving at the camera, I am locked in because I know what I'm there to do. I am really focused on executing and giving my all to everything that I am here to do."

During the conversation, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone also remarked that she revises her race plans and prays to god a lot before the start of her races.