"I will get so dehydrated" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shares candidly about compromising leisure activities for tight training schedule

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared that she can't accompany her friends in tanning sessions due to her tight training schedule. The 400m hurdles world record holder will compete in the 400m flat, eyeing Sanya Richards-Ross' record at the 2025 World Championships.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been a force to be reckoned with in the hurdles, but she has also demonstrated her prowess in the 400m, winning the title at the first Grand Slam Track stop in Kingston. She even ran the 100m flat before returning to claim the US title in the 400m, finishing just shy of the American record.

She scratched her signature 400m hurdles event to focus on the 400m flat, leaving room for her biggest rival, Femke Bol, to claim the top finish in the hurdles. A week before the Worlds, the 26-year-old candidly spoke to Olympics about how she sacrifices leisure time with her friends, missing tanning sessions due to her demanding training schedule. (via Olympics.com)

"You know, it's summertime, and i can't just, like, sit out and tan in the sun as much as my friends, like, they'll be like, you know, lay all by the pool. I'm like, I will get so dehydrated. That is not what I need before practice tomorrow. so it's really unfortunate, because i want to even out my tan, but i just have to play it according to schedule when practices are planned. It's a part of the job." (9:50 onwards)

McLaughlin-Levrone won two gold medals in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed the real reason behind her 400m transition

McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships - (Source: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the 400m hurdles at the 2021 Olympic trials, breaking Dalilah Muhammad's time of 52.16s. She became the first woman to break four records in 13 months and recently at the 2024 Paris Games. In a recent interview with Olympics.com, the 26-year-old shared that the transition was uncomfortable but she always liked a new challenge.

"I wanted to step out in a different way, and so I think there was a bit of apprehension at first of do we really want to take that step, but I want to compete, and I want to compete well and against the best and push myself to be the best that I can be. So it definitely is uncomfortable, but it's rewarding to carve new paths." (beginning 3:35)

McLaughlin-Levrone won the Women's Track Athlete of the Year in the Olympic year.