In Pictures: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returns to track ahead of Paris Olympics 2024
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, has made her comeback to the track ahead of the highly anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics.
McLaughlin-Levrone had to withdraw from the 2023 World Athletics Championships after a knee injury. The 24-year-old, who happens to be a hurdler specialist, was set to compete in the new event at the World Championships - 400m flat rather than 400m hurdles. She was one of the favorites who would have competed in the Hungarian capital.
McLaughlin-Levrone competed in her first 400m event on June 9, 2023, registering 49.71 seconds. At the 2023 USATF Championships, she recorded another impressive time of 48.74 seconds, creating a world lead.
Following her recovery, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was recently seen stepping on the track again ahead of the upcoming Olympics in the French capital. She is expected to be one of the most dominant athletes on the track in Paris.
The Olympian was seen training on a track in Los Angeles. She was seen running, performing a few drills on hurdles and stretching along with the middle-distance runner and Tokyo Olympic medalist, Athing Mu.
"I wanna do this for my team, country" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reveals her thoughts while running a relay race
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has an exceptional record at the relay events. She clinched a gold medal along with the team in the 4x400m relay at the last Olympics in Tokyo.
The American squad, including Allyson Felix, Athing Mu and Dalilah Muhammad, clocked a spectacular time of 3:16.85 to leave behind the Polish and Jamaican squads who registered 3:20.53 and 3:21.24, respectively. Mc-Laughlin ran the first leg of the relay, giving a prominent lead that steered the team to take the top position at the podium.
She also secured gold medals in the same event at the World Championships in 2019 (Doha) and 2022 (Eugene).
During an interview with Sherri Show TV, McLaughlin-Levrone shared her thoughts while competing in relay events.
"Honestly, before every relay, we kind of all pray together, we talk together and it's always run for the girl behind you. You have to do your part, and so listen, things happen," she said.
"I've had things happen, and I'm just thinking I wanna do this for my team. I wanna do this for my country. I'm gonna give everything I have and we're gonna see what happens from there," she added.