Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, lane five, and Femke Bol, lane six, sat still like statues as the official raised his hand, with the start gun sitting calm in his palm. “SET!” the officials cold voice came through the starting block speakers, the snap of the gun shoots through the air and Sydney and Femke bolt into action over the first hurdle. The Paris Olympic stadium shot up booming in the stands for the biggest rivalry of the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 400 meter hurdle finals took place on Thursday, August 8th, 2024 on the beaming purple track of Paris! 

Throughout the year, the comparison of McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol stood strong in the track and field world. Bol broke indoor track records (400 meter) while Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took another route. Controversy arose when McLaughlin-Levrone did not race once a single time in the winter season. However, McLaughlin-Levrone opened a new chapter and wrote an autobiography, Far Beyond Gold. Followers and fans started to weigh the impact that this new chapter would have on Sydney’s performance. Conclusions were drawn, and many McLaughlin-Levrone fans turned their heads and focussed on Bol. With all of Bol’s success and accomplishments, it looked promising that the Paris Olympic 400 meter hurdle finals would be neck and neck. 

As the Olympics grew closer, the tension grew thicker. McLaughlin-Levrone has re-broken her own world record six times, competing in the Olympics for the first time at 16 years old. McLaughlin-Levrone (age 25) and Bol (age 24) both have competed at extremely high levels of competition, which is what ultimately named the two athletes “The Biggest Rivals”.

“Both Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone are the best of the best in their event across the world. While I believe Bol is going to continue to get better, I don’t see her ever competing with Sydney over 400 hurdles nor do I believe she will ever touch Sydney’s record,” Adelaide Videon-Perino, track and field fanatic, said. 

Many interviews circled the internet, bias for McLaughlin-Levrone or for Bol. A specific interview by World Athletics released information about Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone’s relationship. Bol stated that she and McLaughlin-Levrone are very friendly and love racing against each other, even though there were still many speculations about this relationship leading up to the Olympics. 

The 400 hurdles women’s finals race was ranked the highest, most intense race of the Olympics (@worldathletics). Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was assigned lane five and Bol was next to her in lane six. As the gun sounded off, Sydney and Bol took off. When coming over their 5th hurdle, they were dead even. As the race progressed, it got more intense. Sydney took the lead by the 200 mark, Femke Bol and Anna Cockrell (USA) fought for position on the back stretch. As the home stretch approached, McLaughlin-Levrone started her surge as she did every race.

The crowd roared for the women as they all hit the final stretch. Hurdles 9 and 10 were pivotal moments of the race and could determine the position of these women on the podium. When everyone was expecting to see Bol pushing through the line with McLaughlin-Levrone, she was nowhere to be seen. Ever since hitting the 250 mark, McLaughlin-Levrone was left alone on the track and Bol was left behind. Cockrell managed to push with Bol to the 300 where Bol lost her position on hurdle nine to a stutter step. The results shocked the world when Femke Bol came through the line in 3rd place. Although, eyes turned straight to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s time when it was placed on the megatron. 

The results read….

1. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone,United States, (50.37) 
2. Anna Cockrell, United States, (51.87) 
3. Femke Bol, Netherlands, (52.15)

These results left the world shocked with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaking another world record of her own. A year long of rivalry and conspiracy only for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to, yet again, sweep the competing field.

Coach Kyle Roos of the Point Boro Girls Track and Field team shared his opinions on these results: “I definitely wished that Femke would have been able to hang closer to Sydney, but watching Sydney break her already unimaginable world record time was something I’ll never forget”. When Coach Roos first started coaching high school track, “I used to get to watch her [Sydney] live at sectionals, states, and meet of champions. There’s nothing better than knowing I got to watch someone competing who ended up being the best in the world.”

Beyond just track and field, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has stood as a role model for thousands of athletes across the world. Adelaide Videon-Perino stays a loyal fan to McLaughlin-Levrone: “I have followed Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone since I was a freshman, new to the sport of track and field. I’ve followed her progression as a professional athlete, and she has served as a mentor and a role model for me in my sport and in everyday life.” Videon-Perino continues, “I believe Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a true representation of what a role model should look like”. 

McLaughlin-Levrone went to high school at Union Catholic, Scotch Plains, NJ. Both Coach Roos and Videon-Perino state that McLaughlin-Levrone’s residentship in New Jersey promotes their bias towards Sydney. Coach Roos expressed, “Why wouldn’t I root for the home team?” and Viden-Perino followed with, “She is from my home state…. So I was immediately drawn to her, and have been a big fan of her ever since.” 

This event in track and field served the track and field community a huge interest point in the even of 400 hurdles. As New Jersey being one of the very few states that run the 400 meter hurdles in high school, not the 300 meter hurdles, NJ stands as a major part of the community.

Coach Roos concluded the interview with, “The fact that we have two young athletes in their prime and are the two greatest of all time is something people shouldn’t be taking for granted. It’s incredible to watch and see them both set new standards for the sport.” 

Finally, and confidently, Adelaide Videon-Perino added that, “Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has re-broken her own WR (world record) six times, and I believe she has cemented herself as one of, if not the best track and field athlete of all time.”