Fans often complain that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone doesn’t compete as much as they’d like her to. The hurdle specialist defended both her 400mH and 4x400m relay Olympic golds in Paris earlier this year, cementing her elite status. But it looks like as the new season inches closer, the 25-year-old track celebrity is yet to decide in which direction she will be walking, or running, come the 2025 season.

The 2024 Annual World Athletics Gala was held in Monte Carlo, Monaco on December 1. Thanks to her titillating achievements at the 33rd Olympic Games, McLaughlin-Levrone was honored with the Female Track Athlete of the Year award. But despite her gleeful look while holding the trophy, she confessed that her future still looks uncertain.

On being asked by the host of the event about her plans for next year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone confessed blatantly, “Honestly, I don’t even know!” In a post on X by Citius Mag’s Chris Chavez from December 1, McLaughlin-Levrone also be heard joking about how pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis is already back to training. Talking about that, Sydney noted, “I should be back up.” However, she reiterated why he has to proceed with caution, and what is on the top of her priority list for now.

“The number one thing is always staying healthy. For our team, it’s taking it one step at a time, making sure we’re doing what we need to do. We make some decisions as we go: it’s worked so far, and I’m excited to keep going,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, this year’s World Athletics Female Track Athlete of the Year noted. But considering the fact that she’s just as comfortable in both hurdle as well as flat-race events, fans can’t wait to see what’s brewing behind closed doors.

After not competing at the 2023 World Championships because of injury, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returned to her specialty hurdles for the 2024 Olympics. However, with Sydney being one of the biggest stars in the upcoming project of former track runner Michael Johnson, the Grand Slam Track, her future plans are understandably highly discussed within the community. But looking at how honors are showered down upon the New Jersey native, it’s safe to say that her popularity isn’t dwindling any time soon!

A strong mentor behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s stellar success story

Over the years, fans have expressed their dissatisfaction about not seeing Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in action enough. More often than not, the track star’s coach Bob Kersee has been targetted by the community for putting so much importance on protecting her health that he would instead keep her from competing. However, Sydney herself is a staunch believer in her guide’s methods, and the results are indisputable.

In her recent series of stories on Instagram, Sydney looked back at 2024 with fondness: from the first 4×100 relay race of the year, the Mt SAC Relays, where she was part of the silver-winning USA squad, to her world record-setting 400mH sprint at the US Olympic Trials in June. It’s been a fantastic year for McLaughlin-Levrone, undoubtedly, even more so after she set another world record in Paris in the women’s 400mH final (50.37). It would almost seem like Kersee was determined to give Sydney a very different Olympic experience compared to the one she had at her debut in 2016.

Recalling how Kersee helped her to train during the COVID-19 surge, McLaughlin-Levrone said, “As surges of COVID-19 came and went throughout the season, Bobby and I had to look far and wide for a place to train. At times, I drove more than an hour from my apartment to the nearest available track,” she said, “When looking for a track became too much of a hassle, Bobby took me out to the median…in the middle of San Vicente Boulevard, one of the busiest streets in Los Angeles.”

In 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t participate in enough Diamond League meets, meaning that she didn’t accumulate enough points for the season finale. And yet, despite the lapse, the DL authorities couldn’t keep her away from Brussels for the finals and organized a special race just so the fans could watch Sydney in action. But will such honors come her way in 2025 as well? Or will her and Kersee’s wish to maintain peak physical conditions affect her career trajectory in the coming days? Tell us your speculations with a comment!