Breaking:Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Out Of Olympic 400m Trials Race Coach Bobby Kersee says
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone plans to enter strictly the 400m hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials for Paris next month, returning to her signature event after racing the flat 400m in an injury-shortened 2023.
One of McLaughlin-Levrone’s agents and her coach, Bobby Kersee, confirmed the 400m hurdles plan for trials, which are June 21-30 in Eugene, Oregon. The top three in the June 30 final are in line to make the team for Paris.
Kersee said McLaughlin-Levrone is going back to the hurdles this summer “because that’s her main event. That’s what we want to defend our Olympic championship in.”
“I think Sydney’s love is the 400m hurdles, and so that’s the number one event,” Kersee said. “My job is to make sure that she gets ready for the one that she wants to do the most.”
McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics and lowered the world record on four different occasions between 2021 and 2022, bringing it down from 52.16 seconds to 50.68.
After the 2022 season, McLaughlin-Levrone said she wanted to expand to the flat 400m to see what was possible in that event while not giving up the 400m hurdles.
She did not contest any hurdles races in 2023. McLaughlin-Levrone won the U.S. title in the flat 400m last July in 48.74 seconds, the world’s fastest time over all of 2023 and the second-fastest time in American history.
She planned to race the flat 400m at the world championships last August before announcing her withdrawal eight days before the meet due to a small PCL tear in her left knee that led to patella issues and tendonitis.
She competed for the first time this year on April 20, has raced three times this spring in events outside the 400m hurdles and is on the entry list for the 200m at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on Saturday.
NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app air Los Angeles Grand Prix coverage from 3-4:30 p.m. ET. Peacock coverage runs from 3-5 p.m.
McLaughlin-Levrone may also race a flat 400m at the USATF New York City Grand Prix on June 9, Kersee said.