At just 24 years old, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, born and raised in New Jersey, is already an icon in the making with her accomplishments on the world’s biggest track and field stages.
She was a world youth champion at only 15. A year later, McLaughlin-Levrone competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she set a world record on her way to winning gold in the 400-meter hurdles. McLaughlin-Levrone broke her world record in the same event a year later at the World Championships.
The Amsterdam News spoke exclusively to the champion hurdler about her new book “Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith.”
“The book is kind of about my journey in my faith coinciding with my journey in track and field, and how the two of them parallel to where I’m at now in life,” said McLaughlin-Levrone, who married former NFL wide receiver Andre Levrone Jr. in May 2022.
With the word “fear” provocatively in the title of the book, McLaughlin-Levrone hopes to provide inspiration to those seeking to detach themselves from their fears.
“That’s kind of the premise of [the book] and I’ve experienced it,” she said. She wants to have her story positively impact the lives of others and elicit deeply thoughtful questions including why her faith allowed her to get to where she is now and the value of God in her life.
McLaughlin-Levrone wants readers to finish the book with a more conscious understanding of who they are and their purpose.
“All of us have something that we believe [our identity] is rooted in, whether it be your job, your relationships, your finances, your success. I think the question is how sustainable is that? How firm is that foundation? For a long time, I had a lot of those things and they often failed me,” she revealed.
“Even if you’re not a believer, I would encourage you just to read this book and to just see where it takes you and ask yourself questions by the end of it.”
McLaughlin also delved into the notion of perfection on and off the track.
“Everyone to some degree has that perfectionist in them and wants to reach a certain level and standard, and especially in professional sports, wanting to be the best,” she explained.
“I think there’s a difference between being the best that you can be and working hard for that, and your identity being tied to it. And the issue for me was I felt that if I lost, then I was a failure of a person. I think the freedom that Christ has given me has helped separate that. I’m still loved, valued, and secure, whether I win, lose, or draw any race. That gives me the freedom to perform without the pressure or fear of my identity being lost if I lose.”