Personal Disturbances Led to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s Mental Health Decline Ahead of 2022 World Championship

There seems to be no one as dominant in track right now as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Having broken the world record six times in the 400-meter hurdles, Sydney could arguably be considered the greatest in her category. Most recently, she set a new record at the Paris Olympics, running a time of 50.37 seconds. This solidifies her status as one of the best athletes in the world right now. However, this doesn’t mean she is without her own struggles.

In her book Far from Gold, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone talked about her struggles before the 2022 World Championship. In December 2021, the track star had to put in significant effort to relearn the basics, as she hadn’t raced since the end of the Tokyo Olympics and had been relatively inactive in competition. Her coach, Bobby Kersee, emphasized the motto “the best way to learn is to do.” He also aimed to help Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone rebuild her strength and conditioning.

Thus, training was very hard for the hurdler. “I was pushed to my limits each day of training; racing at the highest level felt like just another day on the track. Surviving a practice with Bobby meant I could survive anything,” wrote the hurdler. By April, Sydney felt that she was back to her best and could compete again. However, suddenly she felt that something was not right with her hamstring. She decided to stop training for a few weeks, but it didn’t seem to recover. This disturbed the hurdler a lot, as she could only recall what had happened to her brother, Taylor McLaughlin.

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An All-American at the University of Michigan, Taylor was destined to be one of the best at the track in the men’s 400m hurdles category. He was all set to compete at the Tokyo Olympic trials. However, a week before that, he re-aggravated a pre-existing problem with his hamstring.

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via Reuters

This was devastating for him, as it ruled him out of a trip to Japan. The injury also troubled Taylor significantly, as it threatened his childhood dream of pursuing a career in track. It took him two years to fully recover, but he has yet to demonstrate the potential he showed in college. Consequently, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone felt anxious about her own predicament.

However, after scans, the doctors discovered that she had only a minor strain. It was not a hamstring injury that was bothering her; instead, she had a sciatic nerve entrapment in her leg, which was preventing her from reaching her full potential. The only remedy for this condition was rest. Thus, despite the season gaining momentum in April of the same year, Sydney chose to take time off from training. Ultimately, her decision paid off.

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The hurdler recovered from her injury and broke the world record twice that year: first during the USATF Championships with a time of 51.41 seconds, and again at the World Championships, where she ran 50.68 seconds to become the world champion. Thus, despite facing challenges, 2022 became one of the best years of her career.

This story is developing…