With a star-studded lineup at this year’s Athlos, Alexis Ohanian’s track and field league garnered a hoard full of success. While athletes like Keely Hodgkinson, and Faith Kipyegon shining bright at Icahn stadium, Gabby Thomas, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Tara Davis Woodhall helped with the overall framework of the league. However, fans couldn’t help but notice the absence of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Adding perspective to this, Aaron Brown shared some insights.

While having a live stream conversation on his YouTube handle, the Canadian sprinting sensation doubled down on why Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was not a part of the Athlos. He began, “Why is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone not at this meet? Probably the greatest, I mean, in my opinion, she’s the greatest female athlete of all time. What she’s been able to do in the 400 hurdles and then come and do this in the 400 meters, and she’s only going to get faster.” 

“Why would she not be part of this? She’s one of the biggest stars in the sport, and she’s a female. So your whole messaging is about empowering women. Like, why would she not? I mean, maybe she just turned it down, didn’t want to, and decided to go with the Grand Slam instead of this—and cool,” asked Brown. Highlighting McLaughlin Levrone’s impressive resume, Brown further intrigued, why isn’t she part of the holy trio of advisor-owners of Athlos.

The other thing that irked the Canadian sprinting standout is the ownership structure of the event: “I’m also curious to see how they do this athlete-owner thing. Yeah, still Tara Davis Woodhall, Gabby Thomas, and Sha’Carri Richardson are great—you can’t really do much better than those three being the face for this.” He adds that Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the season’s fastest sprinter, could have been a front-runner too. But was she approached? She was close to joining Athlos but ultimately chose to rest after a grueling season.

Aaron raises a curious question: what if next year Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone expresses interest in joining Athlos? Will Alexis Ohanian surrender more ownership? “Do you make her an athlete-owner? Take someone out? Just have four or five athletes now? Like, I don’t know how they’re going to handle that, but that’s going to be something I’m going to pay attention to going forward.” There are now more questions than answers about Athlos as per Brown.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone talks about her next goal

It’s fair to say that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ranks among the greatest hurdlers ever to grace the track. This year, she made the bold move from the 400m hurdles to the 400m flat, a risky transition, but one that did nothing to slow her momentum. On the contrary, she shattered the U.S. record in the women’s 400m with a stunning 48.29 seconds. Just two days later, on September 18, McLaughlin-Levrone claimed gold in the 400m final with a breathtaking 47.78 seconds.

However, despite her impressive records, the athlete believes there’s still plenty of room for improvement. In a conversation with Vanity Fair, she revealed, “I don’t think it exists. Maybe the one in which the world record is made. I love all the races, the 200 and the 400 meters, and the obstacles. I would say that the 400 obstacles is my favorite race, and I don’t think I’ve done the perfect race yet. I know I can do better in my speed, in my strength, in my obstacle jumping technique. I haven’t made the perfect race yet.”

Talking about her future goals, the athlete expressed, “There’s still a lot to do. I would like to get to 49 seconds in the 400 obstacles and aim for the world record in the 400 meters. The time will come to make decisions, but there is certainly a lot to work on.” Sydney has expressed her goal of breaking the 50-second barrier in the 400m hurdles. With her current best at 50.37 seconds, she may be aiming to surpass it next year, but what awaits her beyond that? Only time will tell.

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