“No one becomes a track and field athlete for the money” – When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone explained what pulled her and other athletes into the sport
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who recently concluded her 2024 season after racing at the Brussels Diamond League, revealed the reason behind choosing track and field as her career in her book Far Beyond Gold, published in January this year.
She wrote that it was not the financial incentives, but the ‘addiction’ to improvement that track and field offered, that drew her toward the sport.
The American hurdler recently concluded her Paris Olympics campaign, where she won two gold medals in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
Besides her Olympic performances, McLaughlin-Levrone also penned down her journey as a track athlete, capturing the different moments of her career, in her book, Far Beyond Gold.
In her memoir, the 22-year-old wrote about her decision to become a track athlete, saying that she wasn’t compelled to become an athlete because of money.
“No one becomes a track-and-field athlete for the money. There’s not a crazy amount of it in our sport, like there is in basketball or football. No one does it for the fame.
Not a ton of that either. And while running can feel good, especially when your body releases endorphins, it almost always produces an extraordinary amount of pain,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote.
She then detailed how athletes underwent tremendous amounts of pain and struggle, but said that she was ‘addicted’ to the improvement that being an athlete brought.
“You can barely breathe. You are stiff and sore later that night. So while the money, fame, and pleasure of running may not be all that attractive, there’s another element that pulls athletes like me into the sport. I must confess that I’m hopelessly addicted to the process of improvement,” she added.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up about writing the book ‘Far Beyond Gold’
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com in February this year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opened up on the decision behind writing her book, Far Beyond Gold.
She said that she was not sure about writing the book initially, but later saw the book as an ‘opportunity to share her story.’
“At first, I was a little unsure how much I could give in my 22 years of life at the time, but I just truly felt like it was an opportunity to just share my story of how I came to Christ and, you know, hopefully encourage someone through that journey.
I’m sure when I look back in a few years, I’ll be able to just see the growth,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone said.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone closed her season on a positive note, with two gold medals in the 400m and 4x400m events at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the 400m event, she clocked a world record of 50.37s, and in the 4x400m, Sydney clocked 3:15.27 with her team to clinch her second gold, taking her total Olympic golds tally to four medals.
