Union Catholic family cheers on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as she takes the gold (Photos)
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone‘s Union Catholic family gathered at the Stage House Tavern in Mountainside to watch the alum take the gold in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the 2024 Olympics at Stade de France in Paris.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who graduated from Union Catholic in 2017, blew apart the most significant field ever assembled in the women’s 400-meter hurdles when she gradually pulled away over the final 150 meters and then powered her way down the final straight on the way to a breathtaking victory, freezing the numbers on the clock at a mind-bending 50.37 to defend her title and smash her own world record successfully.
The 50.37 broke the world record of 50.65 that McLaughlin-Levrone ran to finish first at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month. This is the sixth time in just over three years that she has reset the world record, dominating her sport the same way Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, and Katie Ledecky did at their peak in their sports.
A woman of faith, she has credited her wins to God’s power.
“He can do anything. Anything is possible in Christ,” McLaughlin-Levrone said after she shattered the world record at the Olympic Trials in July.
McLaughlin-Levrone is the first woman ever to win the 400 hurdles at back-to-back Olympics, the fifth American woman to repeat in any track and field event at the Olympics, the second New Jersey athlete to repeat as an Olympic gold medalist, and the first American to successfully defend gold in an individual track event since Michael Johnson’s back-to-back 400-meter golds in 1996 and 2000. The other four U.S. women to go back-to-back are Wyomia Tyus in the 100 dash (1964 and1968), Jackie Joyner-Kersee in the heptathlon (1988 and 1992), Gail Devers in the 100 dash (1992 and 1996), and Valarie Allman, who won her second straight discus championship last week.
The legendary Carl Lewis, who attended Willingboro High, is the only other New Jersey athlete to strike gold in consecutive Olympic Games.
The women’s 400 hurdles was one of the most eagerly anticipated races of these Olympic Games because it featured the two fastest 400 hurdlers in history, McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol of the Netherlands, the second fastest woman ever with a 50.95.
But that showdown fizzled when McLaughlin-Levrone rose to the occasion, flexing a blend of speed, power, and elegance to throw down the hammer over the second half of the race and put an exclamation point on her dominant performance.
While McLaughlin was racing the clock over the final 100 meters, Bol began to fade a bit over the final two hurdles, and Anna Cockrell of the U.S. won the silver in 51.87. Bol finished third in 52.15, the same place she earned at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“It’s amazing to see our sport continue to grow, for people to want to watch the 400 hurdles, it’s amazing,” McLaughlin-Levrone, now 3-0 vs. Bol, told reporters in Paris. “It’s a lot of hard work put in this year. I knew it was going to be a tough race. An amazing competition all the way around.”
McLaughlin-Levrone, who turned 25 on Wednesday, Aug. 7, said her performance was the perfect way to celebrate.
“I’m grateful to be celebrating my 25th birthday like this,” she said to reporters. “It was just a super opportunity. You can’t even imagine. My whole family is here. We’re going to celebrate. We’re going to enjoy this time and get ready for the relay, too.”
McLaughlin-Levrone, who hasn’t lost a 400 hurdles race since placing second at the 2019 World Championships, is scheduled to run on the U.S. 4×400 this weekend as she seeks her fourth Olympic gold medal. She also struck gold as a member of the winning 4×400 in Tokyo three years ago.
“Her dedication and passion for her sport, her love for her family, and her unwavering faith in the Lord have been an incredible recipe for success — one that each student in our building, athlete or not, can strive to emulate,” Union Catholic Athletic Director Dave Luciano told Jersey Catholic in July. “The UC Community is so proud of all she has accomplished and look forward to celebrating her in the coming weeks.”
Her 2024 memoir, “Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith,” also emphasized her reliance on divine guidance. In it, she revealed that her journey from Union Catholic to global athletic stardom was driven largely by her love for the Lord.
“My success is just faith, trusting the process, and seeing my hard work — along with the gift of God — being put into action,” McLaughlin-Levrone wrote.
These are the third Olympic Games for McLaughlin.
In 2016, when she was just a 16-year-old high school junior, McLaughlin became the youngest athlete to make the Olympic track and field team since Carol Lewis of Willingboro (long jump) and Denean Howard (400) made the 1980 U.S. team. Neither competed in the Olympic Games that year because of the U.S. boycott. When McLaughlin ran in Rio, she was the youngest U.S. track and field athlete to participate in the Olympic Games since 1972, when 15-year-old Cindy Gilbert competed in the high jump.
Five years later, McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400 hurdles at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 with a then-world record time of 51.46. She also ran on the winning 4×400 relay. A year later, she dropped her world record to 50.68 when she won the 400 hurdles at the 2022 World Championships at Hayward Field. Then, at last month’s U.S. Olympic Trials, she reset her world record by running 50.65.
MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE’S WORLD RECORD PROGRESSION
June 27, 2021 – 51.90 to finish first at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field
Aug. 4, 2021 – 51.46 to win the gold at the Olympics in Tokyo
June 25, 2022 – 51.41 to finish first at the U.S. Championships at Hayward Field
July 22, 2022 – 50.68 to win the gold at the World Championships at Hayward Field
June 30, 2024 – 50.65 to finish first at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field
Aug. 8, 2024 – 50.37 to win the gold at the Olympics in Paris
This article was written by Jim Lambert, Information Director at Union Catholic High School. Jaimie Julia Winters contributed to the report.
PHOTOS BY JIM LAMBERT
