"I felt like Michael Phelps when he swam with water inside his goggles" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled running in rain at Tokyo Olympics

Modified Nov 22, 2024 21:58 GMT

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once revealed that when it started raining during the semifinals of women's 400m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she felt like Michael Phelps, who swam with water inside his goggles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Both American athletes would win their respective races afterward despite the challenging conditions.

McLaughlin-Levrone made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics after clocking a world junior record of 54.15 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials. She was eliminated from the semifinals in Rio after placing fifth in the 400m hurdles heat.

The 25-year-old headed into her second Olympic Games as the overwhelming favorite in the 400m hurdles, having broken the world record a month earlier at the U.S. Olympic Trials. She completed the opening round in 54.65s before being nearly blinded by the rain during the semifinals.

Recalling the incident in her 2024 memoir 'Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith', Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone claimed she could hardly see after the rain started and felt like Michael Phelps from the 2008 Olympics when he blindly swam the last 175m of his 200m butterfly race after water flooded his goggles.

"The gun sounded, and as I took off, I immediately realized that my vision was going to be a problem. I could hardly see. The rain stabbed my eyes, making the hurdles look like moving objects. I felt a bit like Michael Phelps in the 2008 Olympics when he swam a heat with water inside his goggles (though what he did during that heat was way more impressive; Phelps had to swim blind the entire way)," Mclaughlin-Levrone wrote.

Phelps won that race and the gold medal nonetheless, setting a new world record of 1:52.03 and would later explain that he counted his strokes to take him to the finish line. Similarly, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone relied on her training and not only won the race, but the four-time Olympic champion posted the fastest qualifying time, after finishing within 53.03s.

"Fortunately, I had years of training to fall back on. I got out of the gates without incident and managed to stay on my feet all the way around the track. I was in the finals with the fastest qualifying time. I took a second to feel the weight of the moment as soon as I stepped out of the rain and left the Olympic Stadium. The next time I was there, I would be competing for gold," she added.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won her maiden 400m hurdles title at the Tokyo Olympics

Athletics - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins 400m hurdles gold (Source: Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won her first major senior gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics a day after posting the fastest qualifying time in a semifinal marked by inclement weather. She beat defending champion and former world record holder Dalilah Muhammed for the gold medal in the women's 400m hurdles finals, clocking a new world record of 51.46s.

Muhammed came second in a new personal best time of 51.58s while Netherlands' Femke Bol won the bronze medal in 52.03. McLaughlin-Levrone later competed in the women's 4x400m relay, winning her second Olympic gold of the Games. She has since gone on to replicate her form in the 2024 Paris Olympics as she took her total Olympic gold tally to four, breaking her own record in the process, yet again.