2016. The U.S. Olympic Trials were on. And a 16-year-old had etched a U18 World Record in the women’s 400mH. It was this moment that was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s springboard to success. Only a few can boast of having made the Olympics at the tender age of 16. Quincy Wilson is one of them now. But the real trailblazer here was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. While still in high school, she became America’s youngest track and field athlete to make it to the Olympics. But was she ready to handle the nerves? Was the teen’s shoulders capable of carrying the pressure? Not really!
Just like this, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reached Rio. Her potential was obvious, but the maximum she could reach was the semis. Was she heartbroken? Or pumped to come back stronger? Well, at the 2025 Upfront Summit, Michael Johnson asked the now 6-time world record holder her perspective on just missing the Olympics finals as a teen. That’s when McLaughlin-Levrone voiced a surprising confession. “I honestly think I wasn’t prepared for that moment um and I don’t think I would have been ready to make that final,” she said. Why?
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