By Nicole VanDyke –
Christian track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone gave credit to God as became the first woman ever to become a two-time Olympic champion in the women’s 400-meter hurdles on Thursday.
The 25-year-old American won the gold medal in Paris, France, by recording a time of 50.37 seconds, beating out fellow American Anna Cockrell, who won the silver medal with a time of 51.87, and bronze medalist Femke Bol of the Netherlands, who finished in 52.15 seconds. Not having lost a 400-meter hurdles race since 2019, McLaughlin-Levrone’s victory never appeared to be in question as she pulled away from her competitors down the stretch.
“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,” she said during a Thursday press conference. “I have a platform and I want to use it to glorify Him, and so whenever I step on the track, it’s always the prayer of ‘God let me be the vessel in which you’re glorified’ whatever the result is, how I conduct myself, how I carry myself, not just how I perform.”
“So it’s just freedom in knowing that regardless of what happens, He’s going to get the praise through me,” she added. “And yeah, that’s why I do what I do.”
The day after her gold win on Friday, McLaughlin-Levrone appeared on NBC’s “Today” show Friday to share her thoughts on the victory.
“I’m feeling great. Honestly, woke up. Surreal. … Honestly, you just got to run through the line. You never really know what’s going on behind you. And you never know how close anybody is with the crowd screaming like that. So you just got to keep running your race, clear those 10 hurdles, and just sprint to the line,” McLaughlin-Levrone said.
“You can always tell when it’s going to be a fast race. The crowd is huge. But, also, the field was so deep that I knew it was going to take a fast time out there, and the track was very fast, too. So that also helps,” McLaughlin-Levrone said.
Immediately after her race, McLaughlin-Levrone was seen hugging her husband, Andre Levrone, and other family members in the crowd.
“It makes the moment so much more full. Honestly, having them there. They’re the people that have helped me get to this place. They’ve done so much for me and just supporting me and doing all the things necessary so we get to celebrate together and it just makes these moments so special,” she said.
After setting another world record in June at the U.S. Trials, McLaughlin-Levrone told NBC Sports that “anything is possible in Christ.”
“Praise God,” she said. “I was not expecting that, but He can do anything. Anything is possible in Christ.”
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