Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Wins World Athlete of the Year: ‘I’m So Grateful’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Olympic Champion and now World Athlete of the Year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, discussed what it took to break records and become a champion.
“It means absolutely everything,” McLaughlin-Levrone stated after she received the award. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity. It has been an unreal season and I’m really grateful that it has culminated in this to cap it all off.”
However, the highlight of her year was winning the world title in world record time all while in the US.
“It meant so much, especially after Tokyo and not being able to have family and friends there,” she stated. “Being able to have that moment on home soil and have all of them there – that was the icing on the cake for me. That was the most special part of the moment for sure.”
Although McLaughlin runs the race by herself, it took a team of people to help her become the champion she is. One of those people being Bobby Kersee, her trainer.
“Bobby is an established coach with 40-plus years in the sport,” McLaughlin-Levrone addressed. “He is an amazing talent all the way through, and he knows the sport inside and out in a way that not many people fully understand. He has taught me not just about my event but me as an athlete, and that’s what’s so beautiful about his coaching – he looks at the athlete and what their strengths are and works with that through their event.”
She continued, “For me, he (Bobby) has helped me mentally grow, not just as an athlete but as a woman – with my confidence, my strengths, my weaknesses. It translates through our training into competitions and has shown itself in the performances we’ve had.”
Another one of those people on McLaughlin-Levrone’s team is her husband, Andre Levrone. When McLaughlin-Levrone isn’t training she is focused on her husband.
The couple recently spoke about starting a family of their own.
“I’d love to be a mother one day,” McLaughlin-Levrone stated. “And if we were to have a kid in the next few years, I’d love to come back to track and field. It’s an amazing thing that Allyson (Felix) and Shelly-Ann (Fraser-Pryce) and other women have been able to do. It teaches your child the resiliency of continuing to pursue what it is you’re doing.”
Movieguide® recently reported on McLaughlin-Levrone receiving an Award of Excellence:
West Coast Elite Track Club recently awarded two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Sydney McLaughlin with their Award of Excellence for her faith off the track and her skill on it.
“[West Coast Elite Track Club] is proud to announce we will be Honoring World Record Holder [Sydney McLaughlin] with our Award of Excellence,” the organization wrote in an instagram post. “Sydney is not only a woman of great faith, but aligns with our team core values and exemplifies everything a West Coast Elite Girl represents.”
McLaughlin, who recently married football player Andre Levrone Jr., won two Olympic Gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and holds multiple world records in track and field.
“I’m always so inspired and encouraged when I meet individuals who truly want to pour into the next generation in a God-honoring, integral way! These young women have such bright futures ahead of them, especially because of the leadership and values being instilled by their coaches,” McLaughlin wrote on Instagram.
She continued: “Thank you so much to Michel and the girls for honoring me with this years Award of Excellence. I look forward to watching West Coast Elite continue to strive for greatness while remembering Christ who matters most.”
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