COVID-19 was a difficult time for all athletes. After dedicating four years to preparing for the 2020 Olympics, the pandemic lockdowns brought everything to a standstill. However, the Olympic hopefuls didn’t stop training, no matter how difficult it got. In fact, some, like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone‘s coach, even resorted to extreme measures to ensure that training continued.

McLaughlin-Levrone and her coach would drive for hours to train at the venues that stayed open. However, “during particularly bad surges,” the duo couldn’t find any tracks to train on. So, Coach Bobby Kersee had to get inventive. “Bobby snuck me onto tracks,” confessed the four-time Olympic gold medalist. The track and field icon explained just how far Kersee was ready to go.

“During one particularly frustrating day, when we couldn’t find anywhere to train, Bobby brought pliers and cut a hole in a fence so we could sneak onto a track.” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed in her book Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith. The former world champion added that police officers shut down a few of their “clandestine training sessions” before Coach Kersee cut the fence.

“It was insane. All we were trying to do was run around an oval, out in the open air, with nobody else around, yet it seemed almost illegal to try to get physical exercise.” the former world champion wrote. Yet there were times when even such desperate measures fell short, but Coach Bobby had one more trick up his sleeve.

“Bobby took me out to the median—yes, a sliver of grass, dirt, and pavement—in the middle of San Vicente Boulevard,” revealed the 25-year-old. Despite ranking among the business streets in Los Angeles, the small stretch of grass and dirt was all they needed to train. “I know we looked absurd,” added McLaughlin-Levrone, but they couldn’t stop training.

The coach and his pupil knew they needed to succeed at the US Olympic Trials once the season restarted. Yet despite their last-ditch efforts to make things work, the 25-year-old’s return to the track would not go as planned.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s first post-pandemic race was a disaster

While the three-time world championship gold medalist specializes in the 400m hurdles, her first race after the COVID-19 pandemic was a 60m indoor event. Continuing to train despite the restrictions boosted the athlete’s confidence. “I’d even adjusted well to the shorter steps and different strategy of the 60-meter hurdles,” she explained.

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However, little did she know that the adrenaline rush of getting back on track would derail all her plans. Instead of sticking to the strategy she developed with Bobby Kersee, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took “short jabs for strides” and finished in last place. Although the track icon had raced since she was six, she had never finished last until the 2021 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

The loss left the world record holder devastated, but McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t let it keep her down. In fact, the disastrous experience may have been a blessing in disguise. Just three months later, on June 27, 2021, the hurdler showed up at the U.S. Olympic trials. This time, the athlete didn’t make any mistakes and redeemed herself spectacularly.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t just win the 400m hurdles at the Olympic Trials; she did so in world record time. Clocking in at 51.90 seconds, the track icon entered Tokyo 2020 with a world-leading time and improved on her world record at the grandest stage. So it’s safe to say that all those extreme measures to train during the pandemic paid off when it mattered.