Two world record holders and two different situations for them! While Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis is taking his flowers for winning a neutral event against Karsten Warholm in Zurich, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is facing a mixed bag. After the Paris Olympics, she took an off from her track duties and immersed herself in spending a vacation with her husband, Andre in Greece. Unfortunately, that did not come without consequences for the track star. 

Her absence in the Diamond Leagues came under a heavy backlash from the fans. In an effort to douse the situation, the reigning Olympic champion’s name was announced as the ‘Global Wild Card’ entry in the upcoming Diamond League final, scheduled in Brussels. But that only refueled the verbal attack against her. 

Several track and field raconteurs voiced opposition to that arrangement. Among them, Owen M brought in the rules set by the authority of announcing someone eligible to take the Global Wild Card entry. “The athlete MUST have competed in at least one Diamond League meeting in the course of the season. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone hasn’t competed at a DL meet this season, therefore not fulfilling the criteria for a global wildcard or having enough points to automatically qualify,” the raconteur mentioned.

That deep protest led the DL authority to ponder about Sydney’s entry to the contest. Finally, it announced the addition of two special races for McLaughlin-Levrone, while she will be barred from competing in the final races. But before this announcement came, Mondo had already arranged for SML to flaunt her on the track in the post-Paris Olympics schedule. 

On Saturday, Mondo Duplantis presented himself in a loose mood in the mixed zone after defeating Karsten Warholm. His race with the Norwegian in the 100m attracted a lot of highlights while helping the track sport to be popularized. So, the 24-year-old thinks of the essentiality of such races in the sport’s thriving. That eventually made him think of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s name. 

In his further conversation, Duplantis said, “I heard that Sydney got kicked out of Brussels, so if she wants to race, maybe at 400, we’ll do an extra event in Brussels, day before, day after or something.” Ultimately, he called for a “fix” of the situation. But to his and Sydney’s relief, the announcement from Memorial Van Damme meet organizers came in the next few hours. In keeping with no bit of question marks in her inclusion, the host posted a detailed statement on Instagram. 

The concerned post went on, “We do confirm that 400m hurdles Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be competing at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme, but not as part of the Wanda Diamond League Final races.” Furthermore, the officials clarified that they included the four-time Olympic champion’s name to honor her extraordinary prowess on the track. 

Although the opaque is still there in the names of Sydney’s opponents for those late-added races. But the dates are fixed—the coming Friday and Saturday for the 400m and 200m respectively. However, Mondo Duplantis’ voice for SML in such a moment made the day for her. But there’s another legend who had voiced for the hurdler’s entry in the DL final, as previously mentioned by the high order. 

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone finds support in her dry days away from the track 

The Diamond League authority had to move aside from its previous standing to make a place for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the League’s final in Brussels. She would enter the 200m and 400m sprint events despite not being featured in any of the DL meets this season. That could go well against the rule set by the event. 

As per the stated rule, Sydney filled no conditions to be the ‘Global Wild Card’ holder – she does not have the world record in the 200m and 400m events, nor does she justify other criteria. So, her inclusion did not come following the rule book. Owen M did post on this issue. But Carl Lewis retorted to the brewing questions, giving examples of his own instances. 

The legend of the sport had a stellar run in every form of track and field sports. And the ace experienced a ‘good’ result of this—the bending of rules for the sake of his participation. Nonetheless, that used to add a certain dimension to the popularity of the contests.

Therefore, in his reply, the legend posted, “They did it for me numerous times. It’s been happening for years, and It has always been a great idea. Get the best athletes to race, any way you can.” That’s how he supported Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s inclusion in the final of the Diamond League in Brussels. However, now, the debate should be on a downward slope as SML is on the verge of stepping onto the track for the very first time after the Paris Olympics.