Sydney Michelle McLaughlin-Levrone (/məˈɡlɒklɪn ləvˈroʊni/ mə-GLOK-lin ləv-ROH-nee; née McLaughlin; born August 7, 1999)[7] is an American hurdler and sprinter who competes in the 400 meters hurdles and is the world record holder in that event.

[9] Her mother Mary was a 2:12 half-miler at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Tonawanda, New York, where she ran on the boys' team.

[15][17] In addition to being successful academically, Sydney took up running at an early age, following brother Taylor and their older sister Morgan.

"[14] She is a member of the class of 2017 at Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains, where she was the first two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Track & Field.

Her older brother, Taylor, ran for the University of Michigan, and won silver in the 400 meter hurdles at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships.

[14][23] She would have qualified to represent the United States at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, but was a year too young to be eligible.

[26] She won the USATF junior championship in 54.54 s the following week; in recognition of her accomplishments, she was named Gatorade National Girls Athlete of the Year.

Taking the baton in sixth place on the final handoff, she passed five runners to lead Union Catholic to victory, posting a split of 49.85 seconds.

At the age of 17, she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when she won the award the second time in July 2017 and the magazine said she "ranks as one of the most dominant high school athletes ever.

"[22] In November 2016, McLaughlin signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Kentucky and compete for their track and field program.

[37][38] In March 2018, she set the world junior 400-meter record of 50.36 seconds at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.

[40][41] Instead of hiring an agent specializing in athletes, McLaughlin contracted with William Morris Endeavor, a firm that typically represents Hollywood stars.

At the World Athletics Championships, held between September 27 and October 6, 2019 in Doha, Qatar, McLaughlin ran the 400 m hurdles in 52.23 s finishing in second place behind Dalilah Muhammad.

[52] She ended her season by winning at the Gyulai István Memorial in Szekesfehervar, setting a European all-comers record of 51.68 s.[53] On June 9, 2023, in her first race running the 400 meters as a professional, McLaughlin-Levrone ran 49.71 s while finishing second to Marileidy Paulino at the Diamond League meet in Paris, France.

[56] On May 18, McLaughlin-Levrone won the 200 m at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, beating 200 m specialists such as Gabby Thomas and Abby Steiner.

[57] At the New York Grand Prix in June, McLaughlin-Levrone competed in her first 400 m race of the season with a then-world-leading time of 48.75 s, just 0.01 s slower than her personal best.

Having led the race early on, she powered ahead at 200 metres to beat the second-place finisher, Talitha Diggs, by over two seconds.

[75] On January 30, 2024, McLaughlin-Levrone released Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, an autobiographical book recounting her life and experiences from the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials through the 2023 outdoor season.