LSU's Flau'jae Johnson reacts to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on winning gold in 400M hurdles at 2024 Paris Olympics
LSU Tigers star Flau'jae Johnson was the latest in a long list of people to congratulate Olympic 400m women's hurdles and 4x400m relay champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Following a successful defense of her Olympic double-crown in the 2024 Paris Olympics, McLaughlin-Levrone's incredible effort saw Johnson take to social media platform X to share a special message.
"Sydney mclaughlin you dropped this (crown)" said Johnson.
McLaughlin-Levrone made an impressive Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, winning gold medals in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay events. She qualified for the Paris Olympics by setting a new world record of 50.65 seconds in Eugene during the US Olympic trials earlier this year.
In Paris, she breezed through the heats to make the 400m hurdles final. Prior to the final, her showdown with rising Dutch star Femke Bol was highly touted by fans across the globe.
McLauglin-Levrone made light work of the field in the final, shattering her own world record with a 50.37-second effort to defend her Olympic crown. Bol, who faltered towards the end of the race, finished with a bronze medal with McLaughlin-Levrone's compatriot Anna Cockrell clinching silver with a late charge.
McLaughlin-Levrone also helped USA retain their women's 4x400m relay Olympic crown. She is the only athlete from the team that won the same title in Tokyo, winning it with Shamier Little, Gabrielle Thomas and Alexis Holmes in Paris this year.
They finished 4.23 seconds ahead of Bol and the Netherlands, who claimed silver in the event with Great Britain claiming bronze.
Flau'jae Johnson starred for the LSU Tigers in her sophomore season
Before McLaughlin-Levrone's incredible effort in Paris, Johnson shined as one of Tigers women's basketball's top stars in their run to the Elite Eight this year. She finished the season 50.4% from the field, 38.0% from three-point range and 76.9% from the free-throw line in her sophomore season.
Johnson finished as the Tigers' top scorer in their defeat to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight with 25 points. She will enter her junior season next year with immense expectations given that she could be one of the top prospects in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Besides her incredible skills on the court, Johnson's immense rapping talent has made her one of the biggest student-athletes on social media. She recently released a new track titled 'Pop It', which already has over 200,000 views on YouTube.