“Back in March, the Olympics was officially postponed for a year. I was honestly relieved. That was the best thing to happen to me since the stay-at-home order had upended life for everyone.” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Amid the global upheaval caused by the 2020 pandemic and the stay-at-home orders, the delay came as an unexpected blessing. For Sydney, the extra time was a gift—a chance to work on a persistent issue with her hurdling technique. She saw it as an opportunity to refine her form and head into the Olympics with renewed focus and motivation. But then…

The extra time undoubtedly benefited the New Brunswick native in getting ready for the challenge of the 400m hurdles. However, as the trials drew closer, new issues began to surface. This time, it wasn’t about her sprinting technique. Instead, the struggle was internal — her mental peace was shaken.

In June 2021, she was set to return to Hayward Field in Eugene, the very stadium where she had competed in the 2016 trials ahead of the Rio Olympics. But despite the familiarity, she found it difficult to maintain a sense of calm and clarity.

In her memoir, Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about the emotional turmoil she experienced leading up to the trials. She detailed the mental weight she was carrying, particularly the pressure of facing Dalilah Muhammad, who had been her toughest competitor for years. “First, Dalilah Muhammad. She was the woman to beat five years ago. She was still at the top of her game in 2021—the one runner who had consistently beat me over the last couple of years. And then there was the familiar anxiety,” Sydney wrote.

On top of that came the all-too-familiar waves of anxiety. Her coach, Bobby Kersee, did his best to ease her mind, even resorting to what she called “lovingly yelling,” but it didn’t work. Eventually, she had to make a tough call. “To keep it simple, I moved out of the house my family had rented for us in Eugene,” she explained. But what could moving out really do for her in such a high-stakes moment? It was a step toward creating distance from the chaos—an attempt to find calm in solitude and regain control of her mental space before stepping back onto the track.

In the following section of her book, the Olympian revealed, “I just needed to avoid the track talk. Hearing that some athletes had already competed and made the team built tension within me. My brother and mother understood why I changed locations.” But the situation ran deeper than it appeared. Sydney’s brother, Taylor, had once been a strong contender for the Tokyo Olympic trials, but recurring hamstring injuries ultimately sidelined him. His absence weighed on Sydney emotionally.

Still passionate about the sport, Taylor stayed engaged by watching every event at the U.S. Nationals with their mom, constantly discussing races and predicting winners. For Sydney, it became overwhelming. “Unable to train, Taylor still wanted to be close to the track, so he and my mom watched every event at the US Nationals, talking about the races, debating who would win. It was just too much track talk for me. I needed to keep it simple: ‘Do whatever I could to get my mind off the track.’” That’s when she made the decision to move into a hotel, hoping to create a calmer, more focused environment for herself. That quiet reset gave her exactly what she needed — and led to an achievement no one could have foreseen.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone did something unthinkable in her hard test 

On June 6, 2021, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stepped onto the track at Hayward Field to begin her journey through the U.S. Olympic Trials. Over the next few weeks, from June 6 to June 27, she dominated every round of the women’s 400m hurdles, staying poised and unshakable. Then came the moment of truth—the final. Not only did Sydney clinch the win, but she also made history, clocking 51.90 seconds to set a new world record and finally toppling her longtime rival, Dalilah Muhammad, whose record she shattered.

But Sydney’s path was far from easy. When it was time to head to Tokyo, her coach, Bobby Kersee, couldn’t join her — his passport was still stuck in processing. Despite the absence of her mentor, Sydney once again rose to the occasion. Under the immense pressure of the Olympic spotlight, she delivered a breathtaking performance, breaking her own world record with a stunning 51.46 seconds and cementing her legacy.

From quietly stepping away to preserve her mental peace before the trials to rewriting history on the Olympic stage, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. Now, she returns to where it all began—Hayward Field — to headline the women’s 400m at the 50th edition of the Prefontaine Classic this weekend. Will you be cheering for her? Let us know in the comments below.