Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's Parents Were Local Track Stars. Then They Raised An Olympian
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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a favorite track and field star at the Olympics.
Her parents, Willie and Mary McLaughlin, were also runners, she tells Women's Health.
Her parents encouraged her to join sports for the social benefits.
It’s a big day for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: The record-breaking Team USA runner is competing in the 400-meter hurdle finals at the Olympics. She’s also gearing up to compete in the 4x400-meter relay tomorrow, giving her a busy agenda. Cheering her on along the way will be her husband Andre Levrone Jr. and her parents, Willie and Mary McLaughlin.
Sydney, who is already a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is the daughter of former athletes. When he competed at Manhattan College in New York City, Willie was a three-time NCAA All-American in the 400-meter and a three-time IC4A outdoor 400-meter champion. He was also a semi-finalist in the 400-meter race at the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials and was eventually inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mary was also a track star when she attended Cardinal O'Hara High school and was the only female on the track team her senior year, according to her alumni newsletter.
Sydney told Women’s Health during her July/August cover story that her family inspired her to run track. “Both of my parents ran track,” she said. “My mom was an 800 runner and my dad ran the 400, so it's the perfect mixture for the 400 hurdles right there.”
But despite her family's history with track, the 25-year-old said that her parents put her and her siblings—sister Taylor and brothers Ryan and Morgan—in a range of sports.
"We ran track, we did basketball, soccer. I did dance for eight years, tried softball. I think number one for them was just getting us active as kids and making sure that we were exercising," she said. "[There was] also just the social aspect of it—being able to play on teams and make friends and bond and all those things. We really enjoyed it. There was never any pressure or anything."
The range of experiences—specifically ballet, tap, and jazz dance—helped Sydney build her "balance, stability, and flexibility" which "translated well into hurtling."
But Sydney's parents—who raised their family in New Brunswick, New Jersey—didn’t push her to train hard. Rather, they simply gave her the opportunity to find her path in sports.
“I credit them so much for how they handled my young years,” she told the Jesus Calling podcast earlier this year. “They didn’t want to overwhelm me with rigorous training at a young age. They really wanted me to grow and develop number one, my body, and number two, my love for the sport naturally.”
Sydney told WH that it wasn’t until she got to high school that she needed to focus on one sport—and she chose track. Her sister Taylor, who's five years older than Sydney, was a 100m hurdler, which "inspired" her.
“It wasn't really a hard decision, but… I was hoping and praying that it would turn into a career,” Sydney said.
But Sydney also said that, even if she didn’t turn pro, “I definitely just wanted to do it for as long as I could. It was what I enjoyed doing most.”
Rooting for you, Sydney!
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