Unavoidable Dilemma Nearly Forced Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to Take a Step Back in Her Career: ‘Frustrated Me So Much’

Since the Tokyo Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has never faced a chink in her armor. Rather, her brilliance in the track events has made her someone counted among the legends of the sport. A quick view of her superiority? Since her days in the Land of Rising Sun, the athlete has rewritten the world record book in the women's 400m hurdles event five times. Don't look away. In the women's 200m sprint, she is in the eighth position on the all-time list. And in the 400m sprint, she is fourth. But guess what? Before the Tokyo Olympics, things had been slightly different for her. How?

In 2019, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had to undergo a serious crisis. Reason? An increased pressure maybe. That came with her loss in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Doha. That may sound unreal, though! Yes, SML had to face a thumping in the women's 400m hurdles final in the Doha contest under the chilly sky of October 2019. However, two days later, she came back strong and helped her 4x400m squad in taking the women's relay title. Yet the defeat in the final made her mind agitated. Furthermore, that feeling continued to 2020 as well. Now, that led to a bigger question.

As per the schedule, 2020 was all set to host the Olympics. However, in March, the hosts announced to postpone it because of the pandemic. That decision earned Sydney further time to gather her mojo. But she could not find motivation and there had been a strong reason behind it.

In her book, Far Beyond Gold, the Olympian mentioned that reason in detail. There, she explained , "I'm the kind of competitor who can't ignore a problem. I have a hard time focusing on the positives when there's a glaring weakness. My inability to figure out the hurdles frustrated me so much."