After smashing the world record for the sixth time in the 400m hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics to win gold, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone celebrated by wearing a tiara as she hauled an American flag around the track in her victory lap.
Speaking in a post-race press conference in footage shared via Yahoo Sport’s TikTok on Thursday, August 8, McLaughlin-Levrone, 25, shared the special story behind the headwear choice.
“My sister-in-law brought that. I didn’t tell her to bring that. She told me she was going to bring it and she was going to give it to me,” the athlete told reporters. “I thought she was joking but she was serious but no. It’s just fun. It’s just family. Just commemorating the moment.”
McLaughlin-Levrone added that having her loved ones in France to share her achievements with her in person took on a special significance after competing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
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The global sporting event was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. When it eventually kicked off in 2021, there were restrictions on spectators, which meant no family, friends or regular spectators were allowed to be present to cheer on the athletes.
“[I’m] really grateful she got to be here,” McLaughlin-Levrone said of her sister-in-law. “My whole family got to be here. Especially after Tokyo, nobody’s families were here so it’s just special to have them in the crowds.”
McLaughlin-Levrone’s husband-of-two-years, former NFL player Andre Levrone Jr., was also at the Olympic Games to support his partner. He was seen alongside the track star’s sister-in-law when she handed McLaughlin-Levrone the crown after she won her race.
The hurdles star has praised her husband for his strong support of her as she pursued her Olympic dreams.
“He is my rock,” she told NBC Los Angeles on Thursday, August 8. “He’s my biggest supporter, my biggest help. He was a professional athlete so he understands so much of it.”
The couple first went public with their romance in December 2020 after striking up a connection via Instagram DMs.
“We didn’t interact until he slid into my DMs. We started off as friends,” McLaughlin-Levrone told The Knot in 2022. “He asked me to do Bible study with him and introduced me to a group of really great people who were encouraging and very mature. It was the first time I was in a relationship with a man who I felt could lead me in my faith to a place where I wanted to be.”
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The world record holder admitted to the outlet that there was a special spark from the very beginning.
“We both knew early on that we liked each other and what our intentions were,” she recalled.
“If I could say the one thing about our relationship, it’s that it was always very intentional. Honestly, I knew the fourth day we ever talked.”
