"Kind of scary"- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gets honest about young track athletes' early specialization

American track athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared her take on the current spectrum of young athletes and their early specialization. Notably, McLaughlin-Levrone herself was an immensely talented young athlete who won a gold medal at the Youth Worlds.

Following her successful youth years, McLaughlin-Levrone also spent a year in the collegiate circuit at the University of Kentucky. She was pretty successful during this time, and won an indoor NCAA title, following which she moved to the pro circuit.

McLaughlin-Levrone shed light on the growth of her prowess over the years, and through various levels of the track and shared a contrast with the young prodigies of the generation. She said that the run times the young athletes are clocking are scary. The 400m hurdles Olympic champion also mentioned that these athletes are not allowed to grow naturally and are burdened with pressure. She said (via Ready Set Podcast, 38:29 onwards):

"The times we're seeing right now are kind of scary. I think a prodigy is a naturally gifted person and from a very young age. I do think nowadays we have very young athletes training almost at a pro level, and that's what scares me, is letting kids and young teens develop naturally as opposed to almost stunting their growth by having them train like they're about to run 9.8 in the 100m."

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is scheduled to compete at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, set to be held on July 5, Saturday. As per reports, she will be running the 400m flat in the event, which will also be her first Diamond League race of the season.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone makes her feelings known about striving to get better

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Image via: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone shared her aspiration to strive to get better in track and field. The 400m hurdles Olympic champion opened up about her mindset to work hard and get better every day, as someone is striving hard to reach her level.

She further remarked that though there are days when she is passionate about her work, there is also a possibility of getting stuck. She said (via The New York Times):

"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."

So far in the 2025 season, McLaughlin-Levrone has had dominant performances in the 400m hurdles and 400m flat races at the Grand Slam Track league. However, she could only finish fifth in the 100m hurdles race at the Philadelphia leg.