Does Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Race Enough?

Sydney McLaughlin Levrone has frequently been asked why she doesn't race very often each year. But is it true that she barely races? And why do fans always ask for her to run more frequently?
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⏰Video Timestamps
00:00 Intro - 2024 Season
01:57 How often did Sydney run in previous years?
04:43 How often other top athletes races in 2024
07:38 How often other top hurdlers race
09:19 Why do we ask Sydney to race more?

[henribatrounyvalentina]

It does not matter if she races enough or not the idea of racing is that when you race is for the win and she wins most of her races. she is smart enough not to tire her body for important races.

[Monteb]

She does what works for her!!! Do I want to see Sydney run more often? Absolutely, but she does what works for her and because it works for her, she has the records and medals that she does.

[distanceman]

I think her lack of races has to do with location (Europe) and the lack of money. If she gets $100k from a commercial or photo shoot, why travel around the world for 10k? I'd love to see her more often but I do understand.

[kuramobay]

Sure she wants to race more, wasn't she the first to sign up to Grand Slam Track? She wants to race but the sport does not seem to recognise the elite athletes needs. The Diamond League is a mess. Anyone who can piss off Grant Holloway is a mess.

[ninz]

I want to see the numbers when we compare meets competed at rather than races. Over half of Sydney’s 2024 season was just Olympic Trials and Olympics (7 races including 4x4).

[AnthonyWilliams_]

At the 5:34 mark notice how many people who ran less than 20 races are almost all 400m sprinters whether flat or hurdles. Only Tebogo and Bol ran more. And one can argue Tebogo shouldn't really count because he only ran the 400m relay. He's not a primary 400m runner.

[trogpo]

Great topic and analysis! The timing and frequency of the races are sometimes more consequential than the sum total. For example, I was shocked to see that Dos Santos raced only 16 times this year, because I was under the impression that he really exhausted himself just before the Olympics, appearing frequently in races in Europe, while his main competitors trained and rested properly. And indeed, he underperformed in the Olympics, and did not fulfil the great expectations raised by his phenomenal Diamond League performances before the Olympics.

[Prodigalzson]

Wu-Tang clan said it best. Cash Rules Everything Around Me. CREAM... If you aren't talking cash, then you aren't making cents. Pro sports isn't a charity. If she only runs Olympics, I might be disappointed, but I can't be mad. I don't work for cheap either.

[AJT]

No-one had an issue when Karsten Warholm declined a huge payout to go to Prefontaine 2 years ago or with Femke & Jakob saying Grand Slam Track doesn't interest them because they don't want to travel that far to compete. Meanwhile Sydney has to travel that same distance to compete in the DL and if she was doing that regularly she probably wouldn't be running 50 low in the 400H. She competed more than enough this year but people still act as if she was at 2 meets so I've realised they'll only be happy when she's in the Diamond League specifically. I honestly have no interest in seeing her win every 400mH on the DL circuit, I'd rather she stuck to 200s and 400s if she started running DL more.

It's also funny that there are 5+ top athletes that competed less than Sydney this year and have received 0 criticism (because it's not actually that big of an issue and people are just predisposed to criticise Sydney based on her low activity from previous years)

I made this comment before watching, you definitely touched on that last point. Well researched as always. I'm gonna screenshot that spreadsheet of race count next time someone brings it up on Twitter 🤣

[goldcanine_]

Thank you for clearing the air!!!! They want to find a way to hate on Sydney so much, but the numbers don’t lie!!!!

[JSwell]

Sydney has broken some type of record every year for years! 😅 If she can do that with fewer races and keep her pockets full, why do more? 🤔🤷🏾‍♂️

[Dynamics]

I think the main reasons is like Emerole said, that Sydney doesn't compete in the major T&F league (Diamond League) and her major competitor Femke Bol does very often. I also think because she's a huge generational athlete that could succeed in 3-4 events that fans want to her more of her. While I don't mind that she doesn't compete in Europe, I do love that her and her Coach prioritizes local meets in the U.S. I think there needs to be more focus and investment in those meets to bring more people in stateside.

[kevynhenry]

I don’t think it’s a Sydney issue…it’s this generation. They hardly race…Shelly raced a lot, the older greats raced and competed against each other often and had long careers.

I hear Rai speaking about level of earning in the sport but the greatest stars aren’t generating content or competitions, hardly any matchups and expect the commercial value of the sport to grow…impossible

[dpasv]

Several coaches prefer to use meets for pre-major competition readiness. Coach Meuwly being one of them.

Studying Coach Kersee going back to the '80's, his approach has been certainly different. When it's "right", in his eyes, he cuts them loose!

[DevLife]

I think what we think is irrelevant. It’s up to her and her coach to decide what’s best for her. I think they’re doing a pretty good job so far. Proof is in the results.

[SuperKamiGuruu]

Was frustrated over her not running as much at first, but until they start paying these athletes more than 0.01 percent of what the lazy ass meeting organizers get to put in their pockets, she needs to keep it nationals to global championships focused.

[Tadaia]

That list is enlightening. It’s annoying when people expect Sydney to adhere to choices another athlete is making for her own career. Especially one that has never even beat her. Rai and Quincy are great racers and gold medalists but I don’t see anyone complaining about them not racing. Their races are at least competitive.

[KobeyyyR]

I'd love to see Syd run in the Grand Slam 400m-200m group instead. She could definitely grab the NR in the 400m and lower her 200m PB under 22 seconds with real competition.

[dpwr]

It’s not just Syd. For me it’s the lack of competing against top talent. The untaken path to sub 48 is not just PEDS. I’m almost 60 so I remember the 80s. The Eastern Bloc women competed against each other multiple times per month. 4x400 happened ALL the time. How many times have we seen Syd vs Paulino vs el Nasser vs Bol ? 0. Imagine a year where they competed 3 or 4 times. Plus add in a few 300s with Gabby and Sherica. Does anyone think a sub 48 wouldn’t happen?

[dpwr]

Olympic year is different. Athletes do as few races as possible depending on their financial circumstances. Syd doesn’t need the appearance money.