Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's views on faith: A look at the Olympic champion's relationship with religion and God

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 09, 2024 17:05 GMT

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is one of the most formidable athletes when it comes to the Women's 400m hurdles event. With two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the event, her stature is undoubtedly right there at the very top.

However, besides being such a prolific athlete, McLaughlin-Levrone is also a very religious person and is an ardent believer in the Christian faith and idelogies. She has remarked numerous times on her Instagram handle about how this divine path has helped her face the demons outside her track and field career.

She also penned down the close connection she has with Christianity in her memoir named "Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith". According to reports from the Associated Press, the 25-year-old also has certain fixed religious routines that she follows before stepping up for a race.

As per the reports, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone indulges herself in prayers before every race and is also accompanied by her husband and staff members including her coaches, physical trainers, etc.

Following her gold medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympics, McLaughlin-Levrone elaborated on her beliefs about the Christian faith that has helped her immensely on the track. She stated during the post-match conference:

"I credit all that I do to God. Regardless of what happens, He’s going to get the praise. Every time I step on the track I pray “let me be the vessel in which you’re glorified”… That’s why I do what I do."

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone produces a world-record-breaking performance at the Paris Olympics 2024

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Image via Getty)

Sydney McLaughlin Levorne produced a solid performance on Thursday (August 8) to clinch the gold medal in the Women's 400m hurdles event. She registered a run time of 50.37 seconds during the race, which is also a world record in the Women's 400m hurdles competitions (the previous world record was also held by her with 50.65s that she set during the US Olympic Track and Field Trials).

During her run in the event finals, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone also beat the reigning world champion Femke Bol, with whom the 25-year-old American hurdler shares a very fierce rivalry on the track. Bol eventually finished third in the event finals with a run time of 52.15 seconds while Anna Cockrell from the USA clinched the silver medal registering a run time of 51.87 seconds.

This is Syndey McLaughlin-Levrone's second consecutive gold medal in this event after her heroics in Tokyo three years ago, where she registered the then-Olympic record in the Women's 400m hurdles by clocking a time of 51.46 seconds.