“It’s a surreal moment”: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone sits down to discuss world record and gold medal from Paris 2024
The now four-time Olympic gold medallist opens up on what she hones in on during a race, how her faith is her driving force, and much more
The day after her world record-setting 400m hurdles run at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone could barely find the words to express what winning a second consecutive Olympic gold in the event meant to her.
“It hasn’t really fully hit me yet,” she told Olympics.com in a sit-down interview. “Blessed, honestly. And excited. It’s a surreal moment. But now an amazing, amazing opportunity. And I’m grateful.”
What is amazing is how McLaughlin-Levrone, still just 25, continues to orbit above her peers – and history.
Not only was her 50.37 time in the final a new world record (the sixth time she’s broken it), but her back-to-back gold after Tokyo 2020 in 2021 also makes her the first woman to successfully defend her Olympic title in the race.
“You never really know what’s going on,” she said about her mid-race awareness of her record-setting pace. “It’s really just running all the way through the line. I did get a quick glance at the clock, so I was like, ‘Just get over this last hurdle and sprint through the line.’
“It’s just like we’ve practised a million times.”
But McLaughlin-Levrone’s one-millionth-time approach was also, she said, intermixed with a never-done-this-before mindset, too.
“I treat every meet like its own,” McLaughlin explained. “So, this was my first time in Paris racing for this Olympic gold. I was just treating it like this was my first time here, and, trying to go for it the same way.”
