Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Sydney Michelle McLaughlin-Levrone is an American track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting. She is best known for establishing world records in the 400-meter hurdles and setting the American record in the flat 400 meters. Over the course of her athletic career, she has earned individual gold medals at both the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, as well as titles at the 2022 and 2025 World Athletics Championships. Across these major international competitions, she has also captured gold medals as part of the United States national women's 4 × 400-meter relay team.

Born on August 7, 1999, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, McLaughlin-Levrone was raised in Dunellen, New Jersey. She grew up in a family with a strong background in track and field; her father Willie was a three-time All-American and a 400-meter semi-finalist at the 1984 Olympic Trials, while her mother Mary ran track in high school. Following the athletic path of her parents and her older siblings—Morgan, Taylor, and Ryan—she began running at a young age. She attended Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where she achieved strong academic marks and engaged in volunteer work for disaster relief and civic organizations.

Her high school years saw her emerge as an elite global competitor. At age 14 in 2014, she established world age-group best performances in hurdles events. In 2015, she won the 400-meter hurdles gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia. By placing third at the United States Olympic Trials in 2016 with a world junior record, she became the youngest athlete to qualify for the national Olympic track team since 1980. She represented the United States at the 2016 Rio Olympics, reaching the semi-final round. By 2017, she had repeatedly set high school and junior marks, becoming the first person to win the Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year award twice.

McLaughlin-Levrone enrolled at the University of Kentucky for one academic year starting in late 2017. Competing in collegiate track and field, she set world junior indoor marks and broke the collegiate record in the 400-meter hurdles. In June 2018, she relinquished her remaining college eligibility to turn professional, subsequently securing an endorsement contract with New Balance and representation with William Morris Endeavor. Coached by Bob Kersee, she was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024.

During her early professional career, McLaughlin-Levrone captured the 2019 Diamond League title in the 400-meter hurdles and a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. In 2021, she set her first world record in the event at the Olympic Trials before claiming gold in both the 400-meter hurdles and the 4 × 400-meter relay at the Tokyo Olympics. At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, she won gold while becoming the first woman to break the 51-second barrier in the 400-meter hurdles. Her accomplishments led to her selection as the 2022 World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year.

In subsequent seasons, McLaughlin-Levrone expanded into flat events while maintaining her position in hurdles. Following a knee injury that forced her withdrawal from the 2023 World Championships, she returned in 2024 to defend her Olympic title in Paris, setting a world record of 50.37 seconds alongside winning another relay gold. She joined Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league and set a national record of 48.29 seconds in the 400-meter semi-finals at the 2025 World Championships before setting a championship record of 47.78 in the final. In 2025, she was voted World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year for a second time.