“Andre showed me a replay… I felt I was watching God put a fence around me” – When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled stumbling during her WR run at 2022 World Championships
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once revealed that she felt like God was helping her during her World Record performance in the 400m hurdles final at the 2022 World Championships. She clocked a blistering 50.68s to win the world title despite having slightly stumbled at the ninth hurdle.
McLaughlin-Levrone first broke the world record at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, running 51.90s to lower the previous mark of 52.16s held by compatriot Dalilah Muhammad. She lowered the record to 51.46s at the Tokyo Olympics in the following weeks before breaking it again at the 2022 U.S. Championships.
The 25-year-old clocked 51.41s to win the national title and less than a month later, she nearly took a second off the mark at the World Outdoor Championships. The New Jersey native ran 50.68s for the gold medal, becoming the first woman in history to break the 51-second barrier in 400m hurdles.
While McLaughlin-Levrone was in cruise control throughout the 400m distance, she had a close escape after stumbling on the ninth hurdle. Recalling the race in her 2024 memoir ‘Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith’, she wrote:
“I stumbled a bit on hurdle nine as lactic acid began to take over my body. But I landed in rhythm on the other side of the hurdle.
One more to go, I thought. Run for your life.”
The 25-year-old didn’t lose her lead and finished over one and a half seconds ahead of silver medalist Femke Bol. However, when she watched the replay of her race with her husband Andre Levrone, McLaughlin-Levrone recalled feeling like God had saved her from stumbling.
“Andre showed me a replay of the race later that night. I was shocked. The tape showed no one was close, but in the moment, I could have sworn I heard footsteps. I’d panicked, knowing I had nothing left to give and thinking either Dalilah or Femke was stalking me, about to zip past me, and there was nothing I could do about it. But that hadn’t happened,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote.
“As I watched the replay, I felt like I was watching God put a fence around me as I stumbled and leaned entirely on him as I crossed the finish line,” she added.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world twice after the miraculous save at the 2022 World Championships
Speaking in an interview following her miraculous performance at the 2022 World Championships, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone said she was only getting faster than 50.68s.
“The time is absolutely amazing and the sport is getting faster and faster.
Just figuring out what barriers can be broken. I only get faster from here,” she said (via World Athletics).
She did run faster, breaking the world record twice in the 2024 season after switching to 400m flat for the 2023 season. The 25-year-old ran a blazing 50.65s at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June before setting 50.37s as the new 400m hurdles world record at the Paris Olympics, her sixth in the distance.
