This wasn’t unexpected after all! When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone first declared her desire to enter the short hurdles sprint group in Philadelphia, most knew this wasn’t going to be easy. With just two 100m hurdles races to her name in the past 3 years, the odds of being defeated by the pros for whom this was their marquee event were way too high. And that’s exactly what happened. But win or lose, Sydney just made a major revelation about her 2025 track season in Philadelphia!

For the longest time, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was called out for not running enough through the season. Last year, she started with one race in late April, but went on to run a total of 15 races that season. This was still way more than her very sporadic presence on the track in 2022 and 2023. Still, fans wanted to see more of her as they felt her selective race schedule doesn’t allow her to show her full potential. But has anything changed so far in 2025? Here are Sydney’s thoughts on how her 2025 season is different from the rest.

Speaking to Citius Mag after her Grand Slam Track Philadelphia 100m hurdles race, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone talked about her 2025 track season and if she’s feeling anything different about it. She said, “I think, you know, the only thing that’s different is kind of just traveling to the Slams. But other than that, it’s really the same kind of training.” This time of the year, Sydney’s either running a handful of races like the Penn Relays or the New York Indoor GP, etc, or not running at all. But this time, all she has done since April start is run at the GST.

Thus, the GST has added 5 new races to her list for this season and enabled fans to see a lot more of her. However, beyond the Grand Slam Track, nothing much changes, says Sydney McLauglin-Levrone, “I think you guys are just seeing the training you know materialize earlier in the year than you normally would. So, uh, other than that, I think it’s just business as usual.” She even hinted that now it’s time to continue what she has started, “Just take it one at a time, go back to training, uh get ready for the next Slam.”

Well, whether she agrees or not, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has had a lot more active track presence this year. And not just is she running more, she’s also switching things up in her events. Yes, she opted out of the 400m hurdles option at the Philadelphia Grand Slam Track, running in the 100m hurdles and a flat 100m instead. While that wasn’t exactly a successful idea as she ended up coming fifth in the hurdles race, she still is keen on running this distance again and further challenging herself. But at least, with Sydney being a lot more active on the track, the backlash is done for.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s fans wanted to see more of her

After wearing a double-golden crown at the Paris Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, like most athletes, took a break to rest, recover, and celebrate. But when the successive Diamond Leagues were announced, like the Lausanne chapter, her name was absent from the start list. Yes, she didn’t even run in Silesia, which caused her fans to be enraged.

This was because she hadn’t participated in the Diamond League since 2019 and even missed the 2023 World Championships because of a knee injury. So, after this huge gap, fans wanted to see Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone take back control. But looking at her absence, some blamed her coach for not letting her run a lot overseas, while others said, “Sydney has gone back into hiding. She’ll be seeing you guys in Tokyo next year.” It was believed that she only ran at the big events.

However, with her being active at the Grand Slam Track, despite the host locations, she might be finally outrunning this narrative at least. What do you think? Let us know below!