EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 30: Gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone poses with her new world record in the women's 400 meter hurdles final on Day Ten of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone aims to maintain her Olympic dominance in Paris.
The Olympic Games are now only a few days away, with the opening ceremony in Paris on July 26th.
A lot of attention has shifted over the last several weeks to the Team USA Basketball rosters as they begin their tune-up games for their pool matchups, but Team USA as a whole still has a good chance of winning the most medals once the games conclude on August 11.
One big reason for that will be the performances from the Track & Field teams. As the rosters have been set following the Olympic trials a few weeks back the Kentucky Wildcats are once again well represented with seven athletes making the trip to Paris for the USA.
The biggest of those names? International track superstar, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
McLaughlin-Levrone, a former UK Track & Field athlete during the 2018 season, is known across the world as the best athlete for the 400-meter hurdles and her Olympic Trials in Oregon this past month proved that fact once again.
How so? She set the World Record for the fastest time during closing race of the event posting a 50.65 race time. Even more impressive it was to break the record she already held.
Want to make it even more impressive? Read this from the UK Athletics article about the results:
“It marks the fifth time in her career she has set the event world record and the second time she has won Olympic Trials gold in her career. She won the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene in 2021 with a then-world record of 51.90.”
She also impressed during her time in Lexington, as she was the 2018 National Champion in the 400-meter hurdles, and also broke the collegiate record as she cruised past the competition in the SEC.
Now she will look to do the same in Paris as McLaughlin-Levrone will be participating in her third Olympic Games with her first coming in 2016. Her second appearance in the 2020 games In Tokyo saw her bring home two gold medals including the 400-meter hurdles and the 4×400 meter relay.
As Kentucky fans we have come accustomed to having some of the biggest names when it comes to professional sports, especially the NBA. With superstars like Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, John Wall, Karl Anthony-Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and others coming through the UK program over the years, arguably none are as big as McLaughlin-Levrone.
Whether it be on Gatorade commercials or New Balance ads, a former UK athlete has become one of the biggest names in Paris this year once again. She will likely bring home another Gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles, and add another accolade to an already successful (and still young) career.
Going to be some fun events to watch, and see if she can break her own World Record for the second time in two months. Or even better, let’s see how close second place is to her in the event.
