Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, one of the most decorated athletes in modern track and field, didn’t always stand atop the podium. In fact, her Olympic debut in 2016 was filled with more reflection than celebration — a moment that would later shape her drive and determination.
In her 2024 memoir Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, McLaughlin-Levrone revisits the emotional journey of her first Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Just 16 years old at the time, she had qualified for Team USA in the 400m hurdles — a staggering feat on its own. But while the world praised her as a rising star, Sydney walked away from Rio without a medal.
That year, Team USA made history in the women’s 400m hurdles. Dalilah Muhammad stormed to gold, and Ashley Spencer secured bronze, making it a proud day for the nation. As a semi-finalist, McLaughlin-Levrone watched the medal ceremony from the sidelines, feeling a wave of emotion wash over her.
In her book, she recalls the bittersweet nature of that moment — pride for her teammates, but also a haunting “what if” that lingered in her heart. “This opportunity wasn’t guaranteed to come back,” she wrote, referencing the reality that Olympic chances are rare, and nothing in sports is ever promised.
As she watched Dalilah Muhammad bask in the glory of Olympic gold, McLaughlin-Levrone couldn’t help but picture herself on that podium. She imagined what it might have felt like to represent her country with a medal around her neck, to stand as a symbol of excellence and perseverance. “With the perfect race,” she thought, “maybe I could have been there too.”
Her words carry the weight of both youthful hope and the harsh truth of elite athletics. Sydney knew she had the talent — but talent alone isn’t always enough on the world’s biggest stage. Timing, preparation, and experience all play a role, and in 2016, she was still learning how to manage it all.
What makes her story even more compelling is how she used that disappointment as fuel. Rather than allowing the missed opportunity to define her, McLaughlin-Levrone turned it into motivation. She began to approach the sport with renewed intensity and focus, determined to never feel that sense of exclusion again.
In the years that followed, she would rise to become a global force in track and field. She claimed Olympic gold in Tokyo, shattered world records in the 400m hurdles, and eventually moved into the flat 400m, proving her dominance across multiple events. But it was the pain of watching that podium from a distance in Rio that helped build the resilient, world-class athlete she is today.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s reflections remind us that even the greatest champions have moments of doubt and longing. What sets them apart is what they do with those moments. For Sydney, the loss in 2016 wasn’t the end — it was the beginning of a story far greater than gold.