Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record-holder in the 400m hurdles, is setting her sights on lowering her personal bests in both the 200m and 400m as she prepares to compete at the Brussels Diamond League on September 13-14. This will be McLaughlin-Levrone’s first and only appearance following her Olympic victory, and it marks her return to competition in the Belgian capital.
Although she won’t be competing in the main Diamond League program due to not participating in earlier meets this season, organizers of the Memorial Van Damme have arranged two special races in recognition of the 25-year-old’s achievements, including her world record performance in the 400m hurdles.
Brussels will serve as her first competition since her record-breaking performance in Paris, where she clocked 50.37 seconds in the 400m hurdles. Alongside that triumph, she secured another gold medal for Team USA in the women’s 4x400m relay. After these accomplishments, McLaughlin-Levrone took a well-deserved break but now feels ready to conclude her season.
“I went to Greece with my husband to relax for a week,” McLaughlin-Levrone shared. “It was necessary after those fantastic Olympics, which I worked towards for so long. I feel enormously grateful for what I was able to experience in Paris. After that, we returned to Los Angeles. But because I still feel physically and mentally fresh, I wanted to run one more meeting to finish the season.”
Although McLaughlin-Levrone is widely recognized for her dominance in the hurdles, she is also among the fastest U.S. athletes in the 400m. With a personal best of 48.74 seconds, set in July last year, she hopes to lower that time in Brussels, potentially aiming to break the U.S. record of 48.70 seconds, currently held by Sanya Richards-Ross. She will also compete in the 200m, where her personal best stands at 22.07 seconds, set earlier this year in Los Angeles.
“My goal is to improve my personal records,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “I started my season this spring in the 200m and 400m and now I would like to finish with them as well, assess where I stand at those distances now, after having focused a whole year on the 400m hurdles.”
Looking ahead to 2025, McLaughlin-Levrone is already preparing for the World Championships in Tokyo, where she hopes to reclaim her 400m hurdles title. Having missed the 2023 World Championships in Budapest due to a knee injury, she will be eager to return to form and face her rival, Femke Bol, who won the 400m hurdles in her absence. Their rivalry is expected to reignite in 2025 after McLaughlin-Levrone’s victory over Bol in Paris this year, where Bol finished third.
Additionally, McLaughlin-Levrone is the first athlete to join Michael Johnson’s newly launched Grand Slam Track League, set to debut in 2025. She is expected to compete in both the 400m hurdles and the 400m flat across four events, with one of the competitions scheduled to take place in her hometown of Los Angeles.
“The World Championships will take place in mid-September,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “Perhaps that will open up more opportunities to run in Europe, but we’ll see. It [Grand Slam Track] is definitely on my programme. One of the meetings will take place in Los Angeles, my hometown, and also the 2028 Olympic Games host city. I absolutely want to be part of that.”
As she closes out her 2024 season, McLaughlin-Levrone remains focused on pushing her limits and setting new records, with her sights set on a strong 2025 season ahead.
