“I realized college wasn’t going to solve all of my problems” – When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalled wanting to quit University of Kentucky after watching a girl fight
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once opened up about being traumatized after watching two girls fight in her second week at the University of Kentucky. The Olympic hurdler was contemplating quitting the school after the fight.
McLaughlin-Levrone rose to prominence at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials after finishing third in the 400m hurdles and qualifying for the Rio Olympics. She was the youngest American track and field athlete to qualify for the Games since 1972.
The New Jersey native couldn’t replicate her fast times in Brazil and failed to advance to the 400m hurdles finals. Following the Olympics, McLaughlin-Levrone graduated from High School in 2017 and joined the University of Kentucky for her collegiate career.
However, after only two weeks at the college, she was contemplating quitting after watching two girls fight on campus. Recalling the incident in her 2024 memoir ‘Far Beyond Gold:
Running From Fear to Faith’, she wrote:
“My second week into officially being a UK Wildcat, a fight broke out during a team meeting. I’d never seen two people attack each other, hit, claw, scratch, scream, and swear before my eyes.”
“It made me sick to my stomach, not just because it was the first time I’d watched a disagreement turn violent but also because it shattered my innocent belief that the kind of drama I’d seen in high school wouldn’t happen in college,” she added.
The 25-year-old added that she realized college wasn’t going to solve all of her problems and thus decided to quit before being convinced to stay by her father.
“I came to the realization that college wasn’t going to solve all of my problems, so when I found myself right back in the same old drama as high school.
I almost packed my bags and left,” McLaughlin-Levrone said.
“I nearly ran from the team room after watching that fight, and I called my dad. ‘I made a huge mistake,’ I blurted out when he picked up the phone,” Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone added
The Olympic champion was convinced by her father to stay after being reminded of her original goal of choosing the program: To learn from coach Edrick Floreal and turn pro after a ‘year or two’.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone eventually quit the University of Kentucky after one year
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dropped out of the University of Kentucky after one year in 2018. While had already planned to quit after a ‘year or two’, the decision became easier for her and her parents after Coach Edrick Floral moved to the University of Texas.
The 25-year-old turned pro soon after, signing a multi-year contract with New Balance. She was offered a staggering annual pay of $1.5 million and competed in her first race as a professional runner in 2019.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has had an impressive professional career so far, with four Olympic golds to her name across Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. During both editions, she won the 400m hurdles while also being a part of the teams that won the 4×400m relays.
