{"id":170517,"date":"2025-09-17T20:05:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T20:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/sydney-mclaughlin-the-star-of-athletics-who-is-still-relatively-unknown-people-tell-me-you-sound-familiar-are-you-an-athlete\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T20:05:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T20:05:52","slug":"sydney-mclaughlin-the-star-of-athletics-who-is-still-relatively-unknown-people-tell-me-you-sound-familiar-are-you-an-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/sydney-mclaughlin-the-star-of-athletics-who-is-still-relatively-unknown-people-tell-me-you-sound-familiar-are-you-an-athlete\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney McLaughlin, the star of athletics who is still relatively unknown: “People tell me, ‘You sound familiar, are you an athlete?'”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Javier S\u00e1nchezEnviado especial Tokio<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Actualizado <\/span>

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In the void left by the retirement of Usain Bolt<\/strong>, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone<\/strong> has emerged as a potential superstar, offering everything that the world of athletics needs: she is a woman, an American, and unbeatable. McLaughlin, the reigning Olympic champion in the 400-meter hurdles, also holds the world record. To add to her allure, she has a riveting rivalry with another athletic prodigy, Femke Bol<\/strong>. Despite these accolades, McLaughlin remains relatively unknown outside the athletic community. Why is that?<\/p>\n

Her specialty may play a role \u2014 hurdles are often seen as niche sports, particularly popular among dedicated fans. In a bid to elevate her visibility, she has transitioned to competing in the flat 400 meters at this year\u2019s World Championships in Tokyo. However, there are deeper reasons at play. Leading up to her event at the Paris Olympics, amidst all the camera flashes and public attention, her poise remained unshakeable. When the announcer called her name, she neither waved nor smiled. “I didn\u2019t greet anyone because I was focused on what I needed to do. My mind was solely on executing my plan and giving it my all,” she told EL MUNDO during an interview in Tokyo with a select group of international media representatives invited by World Athletics.<\/p>\n

The Silent Star<\/h2>\n
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Do you consider your public image outside the track?<\/dt>\n
No, I don\u2019t pay attention to whether I\u2019m in the media or not. I\u2019m not on social media, and I don\u2019t read anything about myself. I prefer to stay focused on my training.<\/dd>\n
But when you\u2019re out in public, do you feel the fame?<\/dt>\n
Since the Paris Olympics, I\u2019ve noticed it more. I think my popularity has increased, at least in the U.S. People recognize me more, but the conversation often starts the same way: “You look familiar; are you an athlete? I can\u2019t recall your name.” And from there, it continues.<\/dd>\n
You\u2019ve switched to the flat 400 meters in this World Championship, what\u2019s the difference?<\/dt>\n
The pain, for sure. I run faster and experience much more lactic acid build-up. It also changes the technique. In the hurdles, you maintain a specific stride pattern, but the 400 meters is pure sprinting. You don\u2019t know how far you can push yourself until you reach that limit. It\u2019s much more unpredictable.<\/dd>\n
In the flat 400 meters, there\u2019s a world record overshadowed by doping concerns: Marita Koch\u2019s 47.60 seconds from East Germany in 1985. Many hope you will erase that mark.<\/dt>\n
I\u2019ve learned to live with that expectation. In the 400 hurdles, people expect me to break the world record every time I compete. However, in the flat 400s, I need time and experience. My focus is on becoming the best athlete I can be. I think reaching those 47.60 seconds is possible, but it\u2019ll be tough. First, someone needs to run under 48 seconds, and then we\u2019ll see.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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YUICHI YAMAZAKI<\/span>AFP<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Future Endeavors<\/h2>\n
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Are you training for a double event of flat 400 and 400 hurdles at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?<\/dt>\n
I can\u2019t evaluate that yet. I take it season by season. They may seem similar, but the hurdles and the flat 400 are very different in many ways. I have plenty of time to make that decision.<\/dd>\n
Your father, Willie, competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics: he was a semifinalist in the flat 400 meters.<\/dt>\n
That would be incredible for my family. Experiencing another Olympics at home, in the Coliseum, and reliving the history of 1984… It would be beautiful, for sure.<\/dd>\n
Besides your passion for athletics, you inherited deep Christian faith from your father. How does that help you on the track?<\/dt>\n
It helps because my identity isn\u2019t based on winning or losing a race. It gives me a lot of peace. I just try to make the most of the gift I have received from the Lord. The night before races, I pray a lot, talk to myself, and visualize. All of that helps me immensely.<\/dd>\n
For many years, you balanced soccer with athletics, like Spanish player Salma Paralluelo. Do you still play?<\/dt>\n
I would love to, but I can’t risk injury anymore. Whenever I see a ball, I want to kick it, but I hear my coach\u2019s voice and have to walk away. I believe that if I hadn\u2019t become an athlete, I would have been a professional soccer player. I played as a right winger, and I was good at it. I loved running down the wing with the ball and crossing it for someone else to score.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

In the world of sports, where fame and skill often intertwine, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stands as an emblem of dedication, talent, and humility. With the next Olympics on the horizon, her journey continues to inspire, igniting curiosity about just how far she will go in redefining excellence in athletics. Her story is just beginning, and as she aims for the stars, the world is sure to keep its eyes on her.
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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Javier S\u00e1nchezEnviado especial Tokio Actualizado Mi\u00e9rcoles, 17 septiembre 2025 – 21:20 In the void left by the retirement of Usain Bolt, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has emerged as a potential superstar, offering everything that the world of athletics needs: she is a woman, an American, and unbeatable. McLaughlin, the reigning Olympic champion in the 400-meter hurdles, also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[41275,36738,42242],"class_list":["post-170517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-atletismo","tag-deportes-mas-deporte","tag-mundial-de-atletismo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}