"If Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone feels her WR is threatened, that's when she will show up" - Justin Gatlin on 400m hurdler racing rarely

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the fastest 400m hurdler in history by a lot and hasn't lost a single race since 2019 in the event. However, the Olympic champion races less compared to other runners. Former 100m Olympic champion, Justin Gatlin believes McLaughlin-Levrone would race more if someone were to show the ability to challenge her.

McLaughlin-Levrone has been on one of the most dominant runs in track and field over the women's 400m hurdles. Since finishing second behind Dalilah Muhammad at the 2019 World Championships, the 25-year-old hasn't lost in any Olympic or World Championship race. In the same span, she has lowered the world record by nearly two seconds.

However, outside of the big events, McLaughlin-Levrone races very little compared to other athletes. She didn't compete in a single 400m hurdles race in 2023 and in 2024, the four-time Olympic champion raced the 400m hurdles only once before the Olympic Trials in June.

Speaking on the same in his podcast ‘Ready, Set, Go’, Justin Gatlin claimed that someone needs to show the capability that they could beat Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone for her to show up in more races.

"If you want to see Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone run more, all those athletes who ran at Lausanne Diamond League, those athletes got to step their game up and call the champ out of the corner. That's where it's gonna come," he said.

Gatlin added:

"Someone has to go out there and run 51 low or 50 and has to get out there and possibly somewhat convince the audience that that individual could threaten the world record or even beat Sydney if she was in the race. That's going to pull Sydney out of that corner and get back on the track to compete. Like if she feels like her world record is threatened or there's an athlete out there that could challenge her, that's when the champ is going to show up.” (1:03:30-1:04:00)

While Femke Bol has shown the capability that she could beat McLaughlin-Levrone, the Dutch runner hasn't been successful yet. She recently ran a personal best of 50.95s, becoming only the second woman after the American to go sub 51 seconds in the 400m hurdles.

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Will Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone be racing again in 2024?

The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone (Source: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has likely finished her 2024 season following the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won two gold medals. The four-time Olympic gold medalist hasn't registered for any of the remaining Diamond League meets.

McLaughlin-Levrone opened her season at the Mt. Sac Relays in April, running in the 4x400m relays. Her first individual race came at the Oxy Invitational in May over the 100m hurdles, before she raced in the 400m hurdles at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet on the last day of the month.