SAINT-DENIS, France — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a privilege. A luxury. The immense entertainment value of watching her underscores how rare this pleasure is.
And perhaps it is precisely in her scarcity, whether accidental or intentional, that McLaughlin-Levrone teaches. In a culture of instant gratification driven by relentless consumption, she refuses to be guided by greed disguised as worship.
She’s a woman in her own right with her own agenda. While she undoubtedly appreciates love, she remains unmoved by the sport’s obsession with size, so when she does perform, it’s better to enjoy it than bemoan the rarity.
On Thursday, the world indulged itself. And Sydney, one day after her 25th birthday, satisfied the thirst for her excellence.
Not only did she defend her Olympic title in the 400-meter hurdles by defeating Dutch star Femke Bol in a highly anticipated showdown, McLaughlin-Levrone also delivered the race of her life.
She broke the world record for the sixth time: 50.37 seconds.
It was a masterpiece on the race track in the City of Arts. The Louvre has the Mona Lisa. On Thursday evening, Sydney Michelle was a guest at the Stade de France.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone can NOT be caught!
She adds another gold medal in the 400 meter hurdles and a WORLD RECORD to her collection. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/RJ7reApKfV
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) 8 August 2024
In her third Olympic Games, she won her third gold medal, the second in her favorite event. She is the first woman ever to repeat her Olympic victory in the 400-meter hurdles. Only Glenn Davis has won consecutive golds in the men’s event, in 1956 and 1960. Not even Moses, a two-time gold medalist, managed two consecutive victories.
The prodigy – who won the U18 world championship at 15, made her Olympic debut at 16, won an NCAA title at 18 and turned pro at 19 – has blossomed into the all-time great her talent suggested. In the six years since she signed a staggering seven-figure deal with New Balance in 2018, McLaughlin-Levrone has won 10 major championships as a pro: four U.S. championships, three world championships and now three Olympic championships. She has one silver medal.
That happened in 2019 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, when Dalilah Muhammad set a world record of 52.16 seconds. And 0.07 seconds behind Muhammad was 19-year-old Sydney. Since then, she has not lost a 400-meter hurdles race.
That’s what made Thursday so exciting. Not just the chance to see McLaughlin-Levrone, but the real threat of a rival of equal caliber. Bol, also 24, is the only other woman in history to run the 400m hurdles in under 52 seconds. Last month in Switzerland, she clocked 50.95. Bol – now famous for overturning the American’s massive lead earlier this week to give the Dutch gold in the 4x400m mixed relay – was the only thing sensational enough to make it close.
U.S. teammate Anna Cockrell won silver in 51.87. Bol took bronze in 52.15. Jasmine Jones, the other American in the race, finished fourth in 52.29.
If there is one downside to the Sydney experience, it is the lack of a rival. Since overtaking Muhammad in Tokyo, McLaughlin-Levrone has been alone. No one to push her to the brink. No one to provoke those harrowing moments that adversity produces in legends. She is so good that the drama before her races evaporates shortly after the start and it becomes clear that the tension has been artificially created.
Sydney’s greatest enemy is her past achievements. Her biggest challenge is to find out what she can accomplish before she finally reaches the limits of her abilities.
It would add to her profile if she competed against other legends. Perhaps she would have to switch to the 200m or compete in more individual events to achieve something more challenging. Fortunately, she is fascinating just to watch perform.
The pre-fight intensity of Mike Tyson. The explosiveness of Serena Williams. The glide of Randy Moss. The majesty of Allyson Felix. The competitiveness of Michael Jordan.
Watching Sydney run makes you want more. Like eating ice cream. Like putting on a cool new pair of sneakers. She is track and field’s example of why test runs work. A taste of speed, power and finesse can be exhilarating.
That’s why people long for another glimpse of McLaughlin-Levrone, another window, another moment with her. Because who knows when she’ll come around again.
This was her first international championship since the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She had withdrawn from the 2023 World Championships due to a minor knee injury. Since then, her focus has been entirely on Paris. Most of her 12 competitions in those 24 months, with the exception of the US Olympic trials, were preparations and prep work for the big stage of the Games in Paris.
Maybe Sydney has figured this out. Maybe the low supply, high demand approach is the best way to operate in a sport where the occasional spotlight consumes athletes who dare to exploit it to the maximum. Maybe she understands that brilliance is best appreciated when experienced in moderation, so as not to diminish its wonder. Or maybe she has learned that this is the best way to deal with the anxieties and stresses she describes in her autobiography, Far More than Gold. Maybe this is the way she can stay alive and be great longer.
Or maybe she’s decided that’s all she’s going to give, that her goal is bigger than the speed of her feet. If there are superstars who can leave it all behind, Sydney should be at the top of the list.
That only makes Thursday night’s performance all the more valuable. In an environment that will go down as one of the best in the history of the sport – the venue, the atmosphere and the volume – one of the greatest of all time did her thing. She satisfied the appetite of the moment for the spectacular.
Enjoy better.
(Photo of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone celebrating her gold medal run on Thursday: John David Mercer / USA Today)
