A candle loses nothing by lighting another. That proverb perfectly applies when Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Nia Ali read Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s book—or perhaps it already did. Because Shelly-Ann and Nia planted a seed of thought in Sydney about her future. For both Team USA and herself, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone successfully defended her 400-meter hurdles championship and claimed the top spot in the relay race at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is currently at the height of her career. At this year’s Summer Olympics, she set a new world record in the 400-meter hurdles, breaking her previous record of 50.65 seconds by an impressive 0.28 seconds. It’s a remarkable achievement we’re all familiar with, right? But what about her personal life—her family planning with her husband, Andre Levrone Jr.? And how do Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Nia Ali fit into the picture? Sydney recently shared a glimpse, hinting at a meaningful connection.

Sydney McLaughlin’s mingle with track and toddler

Defying obstacles is the ore of a sports persona. That resembles Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Nia Ali when they broke down the barrier as a mother on tracks, and they continued it with sincerity and affection. Nia Ali won silver in the 2016 Olympics and earned her indoor World Championship in 2014 in the 60-meter hurdle. After that astounding podium grace, she came more gracias with her newborn in 2015. But her athletic crown didn’t set aside with motherhood. Instead, she clinched her World Indoor Championship again in 2016 and won an Olympic silver medal. Also, Nia won the 100m hurdles championship in 2019. In a similar tone, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce can be heard when she wrested incessantly on the track and field after entering motherhood. After giving birth to her child—Zyon, she returned to the track and field in just 10 weeks.

These stories of unyielding motherhood with sports spirit lit hope in Sydney McLaughlin-Levorne. Many different and difficult turns in Sydney’s life made her realize a bigger picture behind everything. That realization she penned in her book Far Beyond Gold. While she was thinking about her life after the track, she wrote. “ I dream of starting a family, of being a mom” —a fulfilling emotion. But what would it mean for the sport she loves very much? To answer that question, she looked at Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Nadia Ali, and others. Sydney wrote, “But Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Nia Ali, and a host of other women have shown that not only can you compete again after becoming a mom, but you can come back to the sport stronger.” Knowing that God is caring and loving to her and her husband, her desire is strong to fulfill that commitment of her heart’s off-track aspiration and return on track; Sydney left the right timing to the almighty.

Yet to reveal the future

For Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, she is a woman of her own. Every observation she gathered has produced brilliance in her. For the future, she thinks about God, like she said about the timing in her book. She shared an X post that poetically announces, “Nothing is promised.” But she knew the accolades she had been achieving from 16 would never wash away from track and field history.

Knowing that nothing is promised and spiritually bonded with her husband, Sydney McLaughlin continues every passion for track and field and love for her husband Andre and believes that everything will be cared for by god. The lines from Sydney’s book reads, “I’m learning to trust God with the future, knowing that he cares for me and Andre, and he knows what is best for us.”