Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is hardly immune to having a bad day on the track. But who thought it would come so early in her career? In 2018, the New Balance athlete was just a year into her collegiate career at Kentucky when she decided to take a giant leap and turn pro. But the professional circuit hardly welcomed her with a red carpet. Instead, her second pro race ever led to one bizarre night!

After a glorious NCAA freshman year with the Wildcats, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran her first professional race in Boston in 2019. Just last year, she’d turned the 400m hurdles SEC Champion and had set a new NCAA collegiate record. Thus, she was all charged up to replicate that success on the big stage. And that she did. McLaughlin-Levrone stomped to first place in the 500m dash organized by New Balance. But the meeting after that is when things turned around.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s Boston pro debut was an enjoyable yet unrealistic introduction to professional racing. However, the practicality of things struck her hard shortly later. Narrating the incident in her book, Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith, she wrote, “But the reality of the pro circuit hit me a few months later when I ran what, to this day, is one of the most difficult, and strangest, events of my life: a Diamond League race in Shanghai, China.”

Thinking how Diamond League races are good means to tune yourself before the more intense part of the season starts in the latter half of the year featuring the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone decided to compete in Shanghai. But here’s the nightmarish part. McLaughlin-Levrone confessed, “I’d never been to China before, and my body didn’t adjust well to the long flight and unique food.” And because of that, her health had begun to deteriorate. “I’d lost five pounds by the end of the trip, which was unhealthy in more ways than one,” she said.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was slated to run a flat 400-meter race, which kicked off at 4 a.m., Los Angeles time. But something about the long travel hours or the time difference had probably hit her badly. No wonder the New Balance star chugged a coffee minutes before she showed up on the track. But, guess that didn’t help. She nearly ran into a woman as she was severely exhausted. “I remember yawning while I warmed up and thinking, I might actually fall asleep while I run.”

That’s how bad the conditions were. And this hadn’t been the case ever before. After all, athletes are very particular about their food choices and rest hours, given how crucial they are for optimal performance. As for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, her mantra is, ‘Never try anything unknown if it’s not necessary.’ But yeah, Shanghai was too difficult for her to adapt to. And swearing by Usain Bolt’s chicken nuggets idea was not feasible either.

Thus, missing these pointers truly amounted to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone experiencing the difficulties of pro track in Shanghai. And even in recent years, her Diamond League appearances have been numbered. So maybe something just broke there.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s Diamond League dilemma

Diamond League runs? Well, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone doesn’t really seem like she’s a fan! Her meet statistics may be brilliant, but her frequency on that circuit has been below average, so to speak. In 2024, when Sydney McLauglin-Levrone tried to run 2 races at the Brussels Diamond League finals, her participation was revoked since she hadn’t appeared in a single DL race all year long!

However, the DL stakeholders were kind enough to offer her invitational races, which marked her return to the circuit after a long hiatus. Well, it was a compromise, but Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took it regardless. And she earned bragging rights when she was faster in both the 200m and 400m races than the gold winners in the events! Also, she returned to the meet after more than a year, as she hadn’t raced at a Diamond League since last July when she clocked 49.71 over 400m in Paris. That too was her only DL race that season.

Speaking of the years before that, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone did not run a single Diamond League race all through 2021 and 2022. So, yes, it’s true that her Diamond League appearances have been scantier than usual. What do you think of this? Let us know below!