STORY
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
The Olympic Games are held every four years, pitting the fastest, strongest, and most skilled athletes from around the world against each other. Great excitement and national pride burst forth as hopeful fans cheer their athletes on to victory—the honor of receiving a gold, silver, or bronze medal for themselves and their countries. It’s about winning. It’s about reaching the goal most athletes spend years working toward. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, runner and hurdler extraordinaire, is one of those athletes. Have you seen her run? She’s “the fast girl,” and she has a story to tell.
In 1999, Sydney was born into a family of good runners. Her dad, who competed in the Olympic trials himself as a young man, would become her first coach. Even as a toddler, Sydney would gleefully balance on his hand as he carried her about their home. God’s special gifts to Sydney—balance, agility, and speed—were obvious to everyone. She ran her first race at six years old, and was soon winning races at school and in her community. God had made her fast, very fast. And Sydney loved to run!
Sydney had a happy home life; she enjoyed her dance classes and playing basketball and soccer. She was a good student and went to church with her family regularly. There were plenty of opportunities and blessings, but she also learned the importance of personal discipline and training. She worked hard, building and improving at what was important to her. All good things, right? But something ugly was looming. Something that would paralyze even her love of running like nothing else could.
Sydney loved running than anything else, but as her zeal and determination grew along with her speed and success, winning became her highest goal. She won lots of races, but the 400-meter hurdles became her showcase event; a race that was perfect for her blend of speed, strength, agility, and timing. (Hurdles are segments of bars that runners must jump over as they run around the track at top speed.) She was so good at it that her name became well-known in national running circles while she was still in high school. In her mind, being “the fast girl” was her identity, and she thought she had to live up to the expectations of others. Turmoil, fear, and anxiety crept in to deceive her even more. What if she didn’t win? Wasn’t that the reason she ran? Wasn’t winning that why she was alive? The pressure was mounting, making her miserable and causing her to risk the loss of doing the very thing she loved.
Sydney’s fears came to a boiling point in the 2016 Olympic Trials. Overwhelmed by the size and strength of the older, more experienced runners, Sydney was sick with anxiety. She felt terribly inadequate and performed poorly in the preliminary race. She called her dad to cry that she wouldn’t, she couldn’t, run in the next set of qualifiers. Being the calm encourager he was, he gently persuaded her back to reason by reminding her to go out there and “be a butterfly.” At 17, she did run that day, the youngest track and field Olympian in almost 35 years! She did qualify, and went on to place 17th in the Olympic Games. Sydney realized that within her was something she called “instinct.” In the most intense and grueling moments of her race, that “instinct” would kick in and propel her beyond what she thought she could do. A gift.
Sydney’s photo began to appear on sports magazine covers and her name in world news. She returned to her New Jersey high school, but after such success and attention, her friends were few and far between after, and track team spirit was low. She didn’t handle it well, and she made some bad decisions. Offers came for her to run in college. Although she chose the University of Kentucky and received excellent coaching there that helped improve her technique and times, she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to leave college after just one year to become a professional runner. Big changes were happening fast, putting more pressure on such a young person. She received a sponsorship by the shoe company New Balance, requiring her to move far across the country from her family, and the COVID lockdown hindered her track training. She was lonely and still struggling with fear and anxiety. Even so, with the help of her new and wise coach, Bobby Kersee, Sydney would go on to win National and World Championships, gold medals in the 2021 and 2024 Olympics, and break world record times.
Sydney learned to wear a smile for the camera and fans while holding her fear and anxiety within. She could manage it, but she couldn’t get rid of it. She knew she needed something more. She hadn’t come to understand that a loving Savior had already died for her sins and could bring her peace. She was prompted to attend a Bible-teaching church and met some Christian friends. Sydney was seeking the right path, but still something was missing.
A Christian young man and former NFL football player, befriended Sydney. He shared his faith in Jesus Christ with her and answered her questions about the Bible. Andre was with Sydney the day she asked God to forgive her sin and give her the new life promised through Jesus’ death in her place. He did answer that prayer, took away her fear, and replaced it with salvation! Peace and freedom were now hers! Sydney would later write, “God delivered me from the anxiety of failing. He replaced it with faith in Him.”
Sydney and Andre are now married and building their life together on the Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ. Andre is in seminary, training to become a pastor. They hope the Lord will give them children in His time. She continues to run, but with a higher goal and without fear. She writes in her autobiography, “He taught me that my identity is in Him, not in my achievements, relationships, words, or physical features. He taught me how to love others, pursue running with all my strength, and respond with grace and kindness, win or lose.”
“I know that following Christ is my way forward. Until then, I’m committed to the good race, for His glory.” —Sydney
