Multiple Olympics and 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has opened up on what she does to lift her to victory before every major championship race.
Four-time Olympics 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is known for being deeply religious with her stance dividing opinion.
However, the American remains committed to her love and relationship with God and never shies away from invoking the Bible whenever she is dealing with an issue, being positive or negative.
McLaughlin-Levrone says her spirituality also plays a major part in her career and has revealed how listening to Christian songs fuels her to success before any major race.
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The Olympics champion has weighed in on what she feels is important to look for in coaches before athletes start working with any tactician.
While discussing her pre-race ritual on the Clearly Reformed podcast alongside her husband Andre Levrone, the sprinter said worship songs do the magic for her while she also loves to read on the morning before a race.
“I mean in the mornings while I’m getting ready, I’m normally listening to some worship music of some kind, normally read the morning before a race. I feel like we tend to lean towards the Psalms, those are always wonderful,” said McLaughlin-Levrone.
“When it comes to the warmup of the race, I need something to get me hyped up. So, normally like a Christian Rap artist of some sort. So always good stuff, clean stuff but yeah definitely has a beat that almost gets me hyped up like I’m almost going to war so, I always love having something like that which will get me ready for the moment.”
The trick is working wonders as McLaughlin-Levrone has two back-to-back Olympics gold medals in 400m hurdles, two more in 4x400m relay as well as three world titles.
McLaughlin-Levrone is also the world record holder over the distance following her 50.37 seconds set at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which lowered her old mark of 50.65 seconds.
She is also the first track athlete to break four world records in the same event; setting four world records during 13 months. The 25-year-old was the first woman to break the 52-second (June 2021) and 51-second (July 2022) barriers in the 400m hurdles.
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As the athletes look to kickstart their seasons, one question remains: is 2025 the year another sprinter finally gets a hold of Florence Griffith-Joyner’s long-standing world record?
The sprinter and her husband worship at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles
