Justin Gatlin has hailed Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as more than just the greatest 400m hurdler.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is undeniably the greatest 400m hurdler in the world, but American sprint legend Justin Gatlin believes she is much more than that.
Speaking on the Run Your Race podcast, the 2004 Olympic 100m champion observed that Sydney is not your typical track and field athlete and admitted that it is every athlete’s dream to be like the 400m hurdles world record holder.
Gatlin further noted that Sydney is not after the money since she never competes in high-profile meets outside of the US, which is unlike other track and field athletes who travel overseas most of the time intending to make more money than what is offered in home meets.
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At the moment, Sydney has broken the 400m hurdles world record six times with her first time achieving the feat being at the 2021 US Olympic trials where she clocked a stunning 51.90 seconds. She broke her world record for the sixth time at the Paris Olympic Games where she clocked 50.37 seconds to win the race.
She effortlessly obliterates her world records and every time she steps on the track, it is always expected that she will drop a bombshell.
Gatlin also lauded her mental strength since her career has not been all rosy and there were times she had to miss a lot of races due to injuries. In 2023, she missed her title defense bid at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary due to an injury.
“Sydney definitely is the greatest, she broke her event, like the time that she has run and broken her records six times. What I always say is that outside her own event, she might be one of the greatest when it comes to her mental toughness. She goes outside the traditional way of being a track and field athlete,” Gatlin said.
“A track and field athlete would go overseas and run a couple of races and get some money in your pockets and stuff like that but you know, she really doesn’t travel internationally.
“She goes and runs a couple of races domestically and then she shows up for the Olympic trials, breaks the world record, goes to the Olympics and also breaks the world record. She is doing everything that we all wish we could do willingly, by simply just doing it.”
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World and Olympics champion Noah Lyles is considered the man to beat in 100m this season but pundits are predicting an intense rivalry between him and Jamaican Kishane Thompson.
Gatlin believes that when Sydney heads to Tokyo, Japan for the World Championships, she might lower her world record time even further. He has always been vocal about the love he has for the hurdler and seeing her succeed is always his dream.
