{"id":23103,"date":"2026-03-11T14:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/how-sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-overcame-her-fear-with-faith\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:15:36","slug":"how-sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-overcame-her-fear-with-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/how-sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-overcame-her-fear-with-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Overcame Her Fear with Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

See me poised in the starting blocks of the 400-meter hurdles, and you might think I have nerves of steel. After all, I\u2019m the women\u2019s world-record holder in the event and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist. But I\u2019m far from unflappable. In fact, for most of my life, I was driven by fear. Fear of failure<\/a>, of not living up to peo\u00adple\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

I defined myself by my athletic accomplishments. Nothing about me mattered if I wasn\u2019t winning a race<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t until I suffered crushing defeats on and off the track that I turned to the only One greater than my problems, greater than my fear, and discovered my truest iden\u00adtity, the title that means the most: daughter of God.<\/p>\n

Do you ever feel as if you\u2019re being chased by fear and anxiety? I\u2019d like to share some lessons I\u2019ve learned in my faith journey, lessons I\u2019ve framed through verses from Proverbs<\/a>. I hope they will help bring you the peace, freedom and joy they\u2019ve brought me.<\/p>\n

Lesson 1: <\/strong>\u201cThe fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.\u201d (Proverbs 29:25)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I grew up in Dunellen, New Jersey, a suburb 30 miles from New York City. Both of my parents ran track<\/a>, but they never pressured me. From an early age, I loved to run.<\/p>\n

Then I began competing, and some\u00adthing else took hold of me. A need not just to run but to win. On the way to a race when I was seven, I told my dad I was terrified of losing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that happens,\u201d he said calmly, \u201cwe\u2019ll get some food and go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

His message didn\u2019t sink in. The more I raced, the more I won. And the more I won, the more fear took over. What if I didn\u2019t win the next time?<\/p>\n

Junior year of high school, I ran so well, I made it to the 2016 U.S. Olym\u00adpic trials in Eugene, Oregon. Before my first heat, I looked at the runners warming up around me. They were confident women with well-designed race strategies. I was a timid 16-year-old girl. I\u2019d never felt so undeserving.<\/p>\n

I was so scared, I called my dad. \u201cCan I please pull out?\u201d I begged.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re already there, Syd,\u201d he said. \u201cJust get the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the starting line, my competi\u00adtive instinct kicked in. I won that heat and the next. In the final, I finished third, grabbing the last spot on the Rio Olympic team<\/a>. I felt relief that the race was over. Then panic.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d dreamed of running in the Olympics since watching the women of Team USA win gold in the 4-by-400-meter relay on TV when I was eight, but all I could think about now was the very real possibility of losing.<\/p>\n

I made the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles in Rio. So did the other two Americans, Dalilah Muhammad and Ashley Spencer. There was talk of an American sweep. The weight of those expectations<\/a> was suffocating.<\/p>\n

Partway through my semifinal, my will to win left me. Instead of my usual surge in the last seconds, I let up. My Olympics were over.<\/p>\n

The fear I\u2019d been giving in to was a trap. It stole one of the great seasons of my life. It told me, If you can\u2019t be per\u00adfect, why even try?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Blessings can become burdens if you let fear control you. Had I known then what I know now\u2014that I should have looked to the Lord, not other people, for meaning and purpose\u2014I would have run for the pleasure of running. Competed for the joy of competition. Honored God for the gift he had given me<\/a>: the gift of speed.<\/p>\n

Lesson 2: \u201cKnow that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.\u201d (Proverbs 24:14)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I moved to Los Angeles in the fall of 2018 to begin my professional ca\u00adreer. The 400-meter hurdles are one of the most grueling events in track. No other event requires such a com\u00adbination of technique, endurance and speed. My first year as a pro, I missed too many training days. My lack of discipline showed. I had trouble clear\u00ading the hurdles. Dalilah, the reigning Olympic champion, demolished me\u2014and the world record\u2014at Nationals.<\/p>\n

My anxiety<\/a> ratcheted up. At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, I stuttered on the eighth hurdle. I still finished with the third-fastest time in the history of my event. But Dalilah ran the fastest time ever, breaking her own world record.<\/p>\n

I found my dad in the tunnel under the stadium and sobbed, ashamed be\u00adcause I knew things could have been different if I\u2019d prepared right.<\/p>\n

I thought I could find the happi\u00adness that had eluded me on the track by getting back together with an old boyfriend. Only he wasn\u2019t interested. At all. I felt worthless.<\/p>\n

My parents had raised my siblings and me in the church, but I didn\u2019t really know God. I\u2019d been avoiding him be\u00adcause I had this idea of him as a harsh taskmaster who\u2019d demand that I give up what I enjoyed, including running, to serve him. Even so, my soul must have been yearning for him, because I found myself thinking, The only way I\u2019m going to heal from this is with God.<\/em><\/p>\n

So I started going to church again. Later, when I studied the Bible<\/a>, this verse from Proverbs made so much sense. The author likens wisdom to honey. Wisdom lets you take bitter ex\u00adperiences and find the sweetness, the good, in them. Setbacks don\u2019t derail you because you know that God has a future for you.<\/p>\n

Lesson 3: \u201cWithout counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.\u201d (Proverbs 15:22)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For so long, I thought everything was up to me. What pressure to put on myself! No wonder fear had me in its grip. It wasn\u2019t until the Covid pandemic that I opened up to two people who ended up changing my life.<\/p>\n

The first is my coach, Bobby Kersee. I met him in May 2020, when stay-at-home orders loosened and the track at UCLA reopened. One day, I got so fed up with my lack of progress, I started to cry. I bent over on the side of the track, trying to hide my tears.<\/p>\n

Bobby stepped away from the group he was training and asked me what was wrong.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure why, but I blurted, \u201cFor the first time in my career, I feel like I\u2019m going backward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobby pulled out a paper from his backpack and handed it to me. On it was a color wheel labeled with different emotions. Angry, happy, sad, mad were in the middle. The farther from the center, the more specific the words got.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a hard time expressing my emotions<\/a> too,\u201d Bobby said. \u201cI want you to have this. Hopefully it will help you identify what you\u2019re feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

That night, I studied the wheel. What was I feeling? Angry at how helpless I felt to solve my problems. Frustrated that I wasn\u2019t improving. Resentful about all of the above.<\/p>\n

Putting a name to my emotions gave me hope<\/a> that something could change. One thing I knew: I wanted Bobby to be my coach. He said, \u201cI\u2019m going to need your full trust in my plan. You have to be all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cI\u2019m all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

My college coach was big on tech\u00adnique, my first professional coach built my speed and power. Bobby does it all, especially getting me in the right mind\u00adset. As he did that moment with the emotion wheel, he seems to sense the guidance I need<\/a> right when I need it.<\/p>\n

The second life changer is the man who is now my husband, Andre Lev\u00adrone Jr. He showed up as a follower on my Instagram that August. He\u2019d played in the NFL and was working in real estate in Maryland. His posts surprised me. Jesus was everywhere. No separation between his faith and the rest of his life. Intrigued, I followed him back.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, he sent me a DM. We messaged a bit, then set up a Face\u00adTime date. We talked about our childhoods, our families. He invited me to a Bible study group made up of athletes<\/a>. We talked almost every day after that and read the Bible together.<\/p>\n

That fall, we finally met in person, in L.A. He told me about mistakes he\u2019d made in past relationships. He put ev\u00aderything out in the open<\/a>. With Andre, my mistakes didn\u2019t seem like some\u00adthing I needed to hide anymore.<\/p>\n

Before he went back to Maryland, Andre gave me a study Bible<\/a>. \u201cThis one really helped me,\u201d he said. On the inside cover was a dedication. He wrote that he was excited to see me blossom and have \u201cglorious growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

I did go on to experience glorious growth<\/a> in my career and, more impor\u00adtant, in my faith. None of that would have happened if I hadn\u2019t trusted the advisers God put in my life.<\/p>\n

Lesson 4: \u201cCommit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.\u201d (Proverbs 16:3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In January 2021, Andre came to visit me. One night he suggested we listen to a sermon on Colossians 3. Verses 8 through 10 jumped out at me, espe\u00adcially the part about putting on the new self, \u201cwhich is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when it clicked for me. I\u2019d been keeping faith, family, track and relationships on their own separate is\u00adlands. But the Lord wanted every part of me. He wanted my hopes and ambi\u00adtions and <\/em>my insecurities and anxiet\u00adies. Everything.<\/p>\n

At the end of the sermon, I knelt and asked the Lord to forgive me for trying to do things my own way. \u201cDo your will in my life,\u201d I prayed. \u201cTrans\u00adform me.\u201d<\/p>\n

An indescribable joy swept over me in that moment. Surrendering to God<\/a> was not giving up my freedom; it was finding it.<\/p>\n

All spring, Bobby entered me in 60- or 100-meter hurdle races. He knew the shorter distances would force me to confront my problems with the hurdles. I wouldn\u2019t be able to rely on my foot speed. I dreaded those races. I didn\u2019t perform well, even finishing dead last in one race.<\/p>\n

One day, Bobby had had enough. \u201cAttack the hurdles!\u201d he told me. \u201cJust go out there and get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are you afraid of? <\/em>I asked my\u00adself as I dug my feet into the blocks. What\u2019s the worst that could happen? Why not attack every hurdle<\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n

From the moment the gun went off, I ran without fear. I didn\u2019t win, but it was the best time I\u2019d ever run in the 100 hurdles. I realized something: The only one holding me back was me. I wasn\u2019t going to let that happen anymore.<\/p>\n

The 2021 U.S. Olympic trials were held in Eugene, Oregon, the same place where I\u2019d raced as a frightened 16-year-old. Before we left for the stadium for my event final, Andre and I prayed. He had led the prayer the previous two rounds, but this time I took it. I asked that God be glorified and give me the strength to leave it all on the track, unafraid, unashamed.<\/p>\n

The eight finalists were called to the starting blocks. I was in lane six. Dalilah, my greatest rival, was in lane seven. For the first time at the starting line, I felt free to trust in God\u2019s plan<\/a>. There was no room for fear.<\/p>\n

We got off to a fast start, Dalilah in the lead. I was in rhythm. When I reached the eighth hurdle, I had that feeling, that indescribable joy. Dali\u00adlah was one step ahead. By the time we cleared the last hurdle, I was in the lead. I summoned every ounce of energy I had and sprinted to the finish line. I saw the clock stop at 51.90. I\u2019d just broken the 52-second barrier for the first time in history.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t wait to tell people what God had done. He\u2019d carried me around the track\u2014for his glory, not my own<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the Tokyo Olympics in August, Dalilah set a blistering pace. At the eighth hurdle, I was well behind. To speed up, I shortened my stride. I stuttered into the ninth hurdle. This is like Doha. Don\u2019t let this moment slip away. <\/em>I took the final hurdle with my nondominant leg. Cleared it. I dug deeper than I ever had before and crossed the finish line first. Another world record: 51.46.<\/p>\n

As Proverbs 16:3 says, when you of\u00adfer everything you do to the Lord, he will bring it to fruition. In his way and in his time.<\/p>\n

Lesson 5: \u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.\u201d (Proverbs 3:5)<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the beginning of April 2022, I no\u00adticed a strange tightness in my ham\u00adstring. The diagnosis was sciatic nerve entrapment. We tried everything: massage, wraps, dry needling, shock wave therapy. Nothing worked. My only option was to rest.<\/p>\n

Just as track season was ramping up, I had to ramp down. Maybe I wouldn\u2019t race again in 2022. God used this time of uncertainty to teach me about trust<\/a>. Sometimes when there are a lot of un\u00adknowns and there\u2019s nothing you can do to fix a problem, you need to be patient and wait on the Lord<\/a>. I learned to take it a day at a time. After about a month, the tightness went away.<\/p>\n

The 2022 World Championships were the most pressure I\u2019d ever felt in my career. I was the favorite. I had the most to lose. But I wasn\u2019t afraid. I ran aggressively, attacking each hurdle, not holding anything back. My legs al\u00admost buckled when I landed after the final hurdle. I won with a new world record of 50.68. \u201cThank you, God,\u201d I said. It was all I had the strength to say. And all I needed to say.<\/p>\n

God had delivered me from fear<\/a>, replacing it with faith. Faith that if I used the gift he\u2019d given me to the best of my ability, win or lose, I would glorify him. In racing and in life, God gives you exactly what you need to run the race he has for you.<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

See me poised in the starting blocks of the 400-meter hurdles, and you might think I have nerves of steel. After all, I\u2019m the women\u2019s world-record holder in the event and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist. But I\u2019m far from unflappable. In fact, for most of my life, I was driven by fear. Fear of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136,349],"tags":[15,52,16,263,32],"ppma_author":[741],"class_list":["post-23103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-positive-living","category-sports","tag-faith","tag-fear","tag-god","tag-olympics","tag-strength"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Overcame Her Fear with Faith - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Overcame Her Fear with Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"See me poised in the starting blocks of the 400-meter hurdles, and you might think I have nerves of steel. 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