Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Who Is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone?

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a very talented American hurdler and sprinter, born in 1999. She is known for being very fast and has won many big awards for her running. Sydney is a world record holder and has won gold medals at the Summer Olympics and World Athletics Championships.

We are very happy to celebrate her birthday and tell you more about this amazing athlete. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a strong and talented woman who has achieved great things in her career. She is an inspiration to many people around the world.

Early Life and Background

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was born on August 7, 1999.

Career and Claim to Fame

You can find out more about Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on her official website.

Birthday, Age and Zodiac

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was born on August 7, 1999, which makes her 27 years old. Her zodiac sign is Leo. People who are Leos are often very strong and confident, which is perfect for a talented athlete like Sydney.

As a Leo, Sydney is likely to be very outgoing and determined. These are great qualities for a runner who needs to be strong and focused to win big competitions.

Fun Facts and Legacy

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a very talented athlete who has achieved great things in her career. She is a world record holder and has won many gold medals at the Summer Olympics and World Athletics Championships. We are happy to celebrate her birthday and wish her all the best for the future.

Sydney is a strong and confident woman who is an inspiration to many people around the world. We are glad to have her as a role model and we hope she continues to achieve great things in her career.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a very special person who deserves to be celebrated. She is a truly amazing athlete and we are happy to tell you more about her. We hope you have enjoyed learning about Sydney and we wish her a happy birthday.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Sydney Michelle McLaughlin-Levrone ( mə-GLOK-lin ləv-ROH-nee; née McLaughlin; born August 7, 1999) is an American hurdler and sprinter who holds the world record for the 400 meters hurdles and the American record for the flat 400 meters. She won gold in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, as well as at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and 2025 World Athletics Championships. She set a world record time in the 400 m hurdles of 50.37 seconds at the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 8, 2024, breaking the world record she previously set of 50.65 seconds. She set a championship record in the flat 400 of 47.78 at the 2025 World Championships, making her the second fastest woman in history over that distance. She was the first woman to break the 52-second (June 2021) and 51-second (July 2022) barriers in the 400 m hurdles. She won a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. At all four competitions, she also took gold as part of the women's 4 × 400 m relay team.

This profile of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone covers Early Life and Family Background, Career and Rise to Fame, 2016, 2017 and University of Kentucky.

As a 15-year-old, McLaughlin won the 400 m hurdles event at the 2015 World Youth Championships. In 2016, she was the youngest athlete since Denean Howard in 1980 to qualify for the U.S. Olympic track team, having placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials, with the current world under-18 best of 54.15 seconds, then later setting the world U20 record. She holds the current world U20 record of 53.60 seconds, having achieved a junior personal best of 52.75s (not ratified), with both marks set in 2018. Aside from McLaughlin-Levrone, only three other women have ever broken the 52 second barrier, and only one other has broken 51. She holds six of the ten all-time fastest 400 m hurdles times. She was the 2019 Diamond League champion.

In 2022, McLaughlin-Levrone was voted World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year. She became the fifth female athlete to receive this honor more than once when she was chosen again in 2025.

Early Life and Family Background of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

McLaughlin-Levrone was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on August 7, 1999. She grew up in Dunellen, New Jersey.

Her parents are Willie McLaughlin and Mary Neumeister McLaughlin. Her father Willie was part of a long line of track & field stars from East Orange High School, in East Orange, New Jersey. He is a member of the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame as a three-time All-American. He was a semi-finalist in the 400 meters at the 1984 Olympic Trials with a time of 45.72 seconds. Her mother Mary was a 2:12 half-miler at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Tonawanda, New York, where she ran on the boys' team. Her parents met as students at Manhattan College; there was no women's track team when Mary arrived in 1979, so she became the manager of the men's track team.

In addition to being successful academically, McLaughlin-Levrone took up running at an early age, following brother Taylor and their older sister Morgan. When she was 14, her father said, "All of our kids are fairly talented, but [Sydney's] a little special. We saw it coming. It was just a matter of time." She is a member of the class of 2017 at Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains, where she was the first two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Track & Field. Her older sister, Morgan, ran for St. Peter's University. Her older brother, Taylor, ran for the University of Michigan, and won silver in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships. Her younger brother, Ryan, took after his older siblings as a track stand-out at Union Catholic. He was the fifth member of the family to win a New Jersey county track title.

Career and Rise to Fame of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

At the national junior championships in 2014, McLaughlin-Levrone placed a close second behind Shamier Little in the 400-meter hurdles; her time of 55.63 s was a national high school freshman record and a world age-14 best. She would have qualified to represent the United States at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, but was a year too young to be eligible. McLaughlin-Levrone also set a world age group best of 13.34 s in the 100-meter hurdles over 76.2 cm (2 ft 6.0 in) hurdles that summer.

In 2015, she improved her 400-meter hurdles best to 55.28 s at the national youth trials; the time was an age 15 world best, and ranked second on the all-time world youth list behind Leslie Maxie's world youth best (and national high school record) of 55.20 s set in 1984. She qualified for the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, where she won gold in 55.94 s; she finished the year as the world youth and junior leader in the event.

2016

McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400-meter hurdles in 54.46 s at the New Balance national outdoor high school championships; the time broke Maxie's prep record and world youth best, as well as Lashinda Demus's American junior record of 54.70 s. Also, she ran on Union Catholic's team in the sprint medley relay, running a fast 50.93 s split for 400 meters as the team set a new high school record of 2:07.99. She won the USATF junior championship in 54.54 s the following week; in recognition of her accomplishments, she was named Gatorade National Girls Athlete of the Year.

McLaughlin-Levrone placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in 54.15 s at the US Olympic Trials, setting a new world youth best and world junior record and qualifying for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro before her senior year in high school. She was the youngest athlete to make the American Olympic track and field team since Carol Lewis and Denean Howard qualified for the boycotted Moscow Olympics in 1980. At the Games, she placed fifth in her semi-final heat, failing to advance to the finals.

2017

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was part of an American record setting quartet that broke the indoor distance medley relay world record with a time of 10:40.31, set at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on January 28 at Boston's Reggie Lewis Center. The splits for the four legs were: 3:18.40 (1200 m) by Emma Coburn, 52.32 (400 m) by McLaughlin, 2:01.92 (800 m) by Brenda Martinez, and 4:27.66 (1600 m) by Jenny Simpson. Later that indoor season on March 12, McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her own national 400-meter record to a 51.61 s at the New Balance Nationals in New York City.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_McLaughlin-Levrone), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.