Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Is In Her Off-Season Era: “I’m Sitting Here With Chick-Fil-A”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been juggling a lot lately. Like, actually juggling. Last month, the Olympian showed off her skills while visiting her hometown in New Jersey. She did the same during an appearance on the “Today” show, and at a University of Kentucky football game just after being inducted into the school’s hall of fame. She can juggle balls, clubs…even mini-baguettes.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s elite juggling skills may seem like a random talent — one she learned from her fifth grade teacher in lieu of going to recess— it makes sense if you’re familiar with the New Balance-sponsored hurdler’s unflappable disposition and intense focus.

“With both juggling and hurdling you’re in a flow state, where you’re mentally not even there, your body is just doing what it knows to do,” she tells PS. “They both require attention to detail, and adjusting in real time. Juggling can sometimes be a balancing act, and I do think balance in the hurdles is also really important.”

“It’s a fun party trick, but it’s also relaxing and therapeutic,” adds McLaughlin-Levrone, who even breaks out a set of juggling balls to calm her mind pre-race.

But McLaughlin-Levrone has been doing lots of proverbial juggling this year, too. In addition to winning two gold medals at the Paris Olympics (one of which involved breaking her own world record in the 400 meter hurdles), she dominated the 400m flat at an invitational race at the recent Diamond League finals in Brussels. Now in the midst of her well-earned offseason, McLaughlin-Levrone spoke to PS about her record-breaking 2024, how she’s taking charge of her career, and future goal-setting.

PS: How much time do you usually take off from training in your offseason? Is there anything you like to do that you don’t usually have time to do, or don’t want to do because of how it impacts your body?

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: It changes every year, because the next season is always different depending on when the championships are. But I at least try to take a full month off to let my body rest, just because track seasons are so long. I eat food that I don’t normally get to eat — I’m sitting here with Chick-Fil-A right now. And then just being able to sleep in and not having to wake up early for training, and having leisure days that aren’t super regimented. It’s enjoyable to have those moments of taking a break from my sport. I think it’s healthy and normal, especially when there are such long seasons of training for these very intense moments. That way, I come back refreshed and excited for the next season. I almost miss it, but you can’t do that unless you take some time to really rest and recuperate.

PS: It looks like you’ve gotten to do some fun stuff since the Olympics, like having a street named after you in your hometown. How was that?

SML: Honorarily, yes — they’re not actually changing the name, which is great. I’m very grateful that nobody has to change their mailing address [laughs]. But I was very shocked. I’m from a small town, it’s like one square mile. Every time the Olympics comes around, they’re so supportive and sweet and it was really nice to be able to go and celebrate.

PS: Looking back on this year’s Olympics and the past season as a whole, what have been the biggest lessons and takeaways for you?

SML: I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned over this past year was taking more ownership of my life as an athlete. Each year as I get older, I’m understanding more and more not just about my sport, but about myself as a person and about my body. I feel like this year was the most growth I’ve seen in terms of taking accountability for my own career. That’s something that I’ve seen be so beneficial, and I’m excited about what the growth means moving forward, not just on the track, but also for me as a person.

PS: Were there specific changes you made as you took more control over your career that you found to be helpful?

SML: I think it was about stepping out of that child role and that young adult role into the womanhood role. I’m 25 now. I’m a grown woman, this is my career. I can take the reins of it, and I don’t need people to schedule things for me. I know what I should be doing, I know my body. I think it was flipping that switch, because I have an amazing support system, but I think out of my own laziness I let others do a lot for me. This was me starting to take accountability and take that next step.

PS: How were the Paris Olympics for you? Did they feel different from the other two Olympics you’ve experienced?

SML: This felt like my first full Olympics. In Rio, I was so young, and I didn’t know what to expect. And then in Tokyo, there were no fans in the stands. So being able to have 70,000 fans and my family there — it was such a full-circle moment, and I was able to take it all in and experience it for what it was.

PS: Were there any practices or rituals that helped you stay grounded during the Games? How do you cultivate the intense focus that you have?

SML: Just sticking within my circle. When you step into some of these very big arenas, it’s easy to get distracted. You have all the best athletes from all over the world coming to one place. We do a very good job of controlling what we can control, and that’s been very helpful. I’m very much focused on my faith and how that carries me through these moments. So just keeping that at the center.

The intense focus — that’s natural. It’s not something I try to teach myself, it’s just what comes out when I step on the line. It’s the ultimate focus on what I’m there to accomplish, and then snapping out of it once the race is over. It’s really helped me to focus on my lane and what’s ahead of me and not looking to the right or to the left.

PS: Are you someone who experiences a post-race or post-Olympics comedown? What kinds of feelings came up for you afterward?

SML: Shock that it’s over. I think it was a week after, and I was like, “Wait, it’s done?” We’ve been working all of these months for these moments, and then it’s done. I think it’s coming to grips with, ‘you can take a breath now,’ because there’s so much tension that builds up until that moment. It’s a period of adjusting to that moment being past you and focusing on what lies ahead.

PS: Speaking of what’s next, what’s your process for setting goals for the next season? Anything you have in mind right now?

SML: I have no idea. Every season, I like to sit down and write down what my goals are and put them in a place where I can see them and remind myself daily. But as of right now, I haven’t even sat down with my coach. As the weeks pass by, we’ll sit down and look at the schedule and what we want to aim for moving forward.

PS: When you won gold and broke your own record, you said there were still things you wanted to improve. How do you stay so internally-motivated, especially with all of the pressure and expectations that others put on you?

SML: The outside world, the media, the track world, is always going to have expectations of me and what they think I should do, and I appreciate them caring. But at the end of the day, when I hang up my spikes, I have to be content with what I did. And I think that internal motivation for me just comes from the fact that there’s always something that can be done better. Every time I step on the track, I’m always looking for how I can get tenths of a second, hundredths of a second [faster]. The motivation is that personal improvement and being able to say I was better than I was the day before, whatever that looks like. I genuinely just love pushing myself to new heights and new limits. And yeah, there’s no such thing as a perfect race, so there’s always something that you could do better.

PS: Do you have any advice on goal-setting — running or fitness-related, or just life goals?

SML: What I’ve found helpful is setting goals that are realistic and having a plan on how to get there. I think goals without a plan are just a dream, and so really sitting down and making sure, okay, if this is what I’m aiming to do, what are the steps that are going to help me get there? Then, having grace with yourself to know that it may not happen this month, this week, this year — it may be something I have to continue to work towards. But having that plan so you can see tangible growth is what keeps you motivated.

Lauren Wingenroth is a freelance journalist covering all things sports, fitness, and the performing arts. In addition to PS, her stories can be found in The New York Times, GQ, Outside magazine, Women’s Running, Well+Good, Dance Magazine, and more.