Sidney McLaughlin-Levrone, gold and World Record: “I credit all to God”
It is the 6th time she broke her own world record of the 400-meter hurdles. “I have a platform and I want to use it to glorify Him”.
PARIS · 09 AUGUST 2024 · 16:10 CET
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles, posting another World Record time at 50.37 in Paris.
It's the sixth time she's lowered her own world record, the only woman to win the event in consecutive Olympic Games.
Anna Cockrell came in second with a personal-best time of 51.87. Netherlands' Femke Bol was third, running a 52.15.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, QUEEN of breaking her own 400m hurdles records! ?ﾟﾤﾌ #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/VQd47ayrLo
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 9, 2024
“I credit all that I do to God”
McLaughlin-Levrone is a Christian, and she speaks regularly about her faith in God on social media and in interviews, giving all the glory to God when she wins.
“I credit all that I do to God. He’s given me a gift, He’s given me a drive to just want to continue to improve upon myself, and I have a platform and I want to use it to glorify Him”, she said in the press conference after the Paris 2024 final.
The 25-year-old athlete pointed out that “whenever I step on the track it’s always the prayer of, ‘God, let me be the vessel in which You’re glorified’”.
“It is just freedom in knowing that regardless of what happens, He’s going to get the praise through me. That’s why I do what I do”, concluded McLaughlin-Levrone.
She also acknowledged her husband, Andre Levrone Jr., for being “my best friend, my biggest supporter, my personal pastor. I love him more than life itself.”
Trusting God
She also talked about the importance of her faith, in an interview with the USA television NBC after her semifinal run.
“You work all year to get here, but what you have done is what keeps you here. So it is just about executing that, trusting the process, trusting the plan, and ultimately, trusting God”, said the athlete.
Public faith
On her X social media bio, the runner writes that she is “resting in Jesus’ grace”, while on Instagram, she says “Jesus is Lord”.
Just one month before the Olympics, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, when she broke the World Record with 50.65 seconds, McLaughlin-Levrone recognised that she “was not expecting that”. “Honestly, praise God, Anything is possible in Christ. I’m just amazed, baffled and in shock”.
After the victory at Tokyo Olympics, the Christian athlete stressed on Instagram that “what I have in Christ is far greater than what I have or don’t have in life. I pray my journey may be a clear depiction of submission and obedience to God”.
“Just because I may not win every race, or receive every one of my heart’s desires, does not mean God had failed. He has prepared me for a moment such as this. That I may use the gifts He has given me to point all the attention back to Him”, she added.
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