SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE BRINGS ABOUT A CHANGE IN PLANS AFTER WITHDRAWING FROM THE 400M HURDLES AT THE LA GRAND PRIX 2024

Track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is notably missing from the 400m hurdles roster at the 2024 LA Grand Prix. Instead, she is opting to compete in the 200m hurdles, delaying her highly anticipated return to the 400m event until future competitions.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been off the competition since mid-2023, due to a knee injury. The 400m hurdles world record holder didn't compete at the 2023 World Championships to make Olympic year entry instead. But at the recently concluded Oxy Invitational, she couldn't make a 400m hurdles comeback and ran in the 100m hurdles category.

At the Oxy Invitational, the 24-year-old Tokyo Olympic Champion not only touched the finish line in an impressive 10.71s but also finished just 0.06s behind her personal best time clocked in 2021. But what the track world waited for was her 400m hurdles and how seamlessly she would fly to victory.

However, her 400m hurdles return after a 20-month hiatus was pushed further. Nevertheless, she graces the 200m hurdles list now, heading into the Los Angeles Grand Prix 2024. According to the LA Grand Prix official website, the final 200m roster has been announced.

Besides Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the other 200m hurdles participants from the US are - Gabby Thomas, Jenna Prandini, and Abby Steiner. The speedsters will lock horns on May 18, at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.

As Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has withdrawn from the 400m list, her strongest US counterpart Delilah Muhammad will go against a promising athlete, Anna Cockrell, in the 400m hurdles.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist last competed in her forte in August 2022. This feat came shortly after she finished with a 400m hurdles world record at the 2022 Eugene World Championships.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made her 2024 track comeback with the Mt. SAC Relays

On the news of her return, the track fans jumped back on their toes to cheer Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Mt. SAC Relays. The event was held in California, at the Hilmer Lodge Stadium, from April 17 to 20 and Sydney's comeback was not in 400m hurdles, but in the 4x100m relay.

Alongside Morolake Akinosun, Jenna Prandini, and Keni Harrison, the 24-year-old Olympian represented Formula Kersee, the Athletics Club based in Los Angeles. The team's time of 42.93s earned them a second-place finish on the podium behind Team International girls, who clocked in at 42.03s.

Eyeing the Paris Olympics to mark her second Olympic entry, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will vie for her second consecutive Olympic champion title. To secure a berth at the Summer Games, the US athletes will face off against each other at the US Track and Field Olympic Trials scheduled from June 21 to 30.

2024-05-09T01:09:42Z dg43tfdfdgfd