U.S. track and field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke her own world record and won gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, July 8, has often credited her success with bye bye.
Having dominated the competition at the US Olympic Trials earlier this year and qualified for the Paris games, McLaughlin-Levrone shared both her amazement and gratitude toward God.
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“Honestly, praise God! I didn’t expect that, but He can do anything. Everything is possible in Christ. So yeah, I’m just amazed, bewildered and shocked,” shared then.
McLaughlin-Levrone, a devout Christian who attended Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, makes frequent references to Scripture and gives thanks to God in interviews and on social networks.
Sister Percylee Hart, McLaughlin-Levrone’s former principal at Union Catholic, spoke with CNA – EWTN News’ English agency – in 2022 about her pride in her alumni, stating that the track star had “answered the call to be that instrument of faith on the world’s biggest stage.”
“Her spontaneity at the end of her victory, when she praised God and gave him all the glory, tells me that she is God’s instrument in being a force for good around the world,” Hart continued. “We are all called to be all that God calls us to be and to be good people, and Sydney models that and affirms it with her messages about faith.”
Sharing more about her life of faith, the three-time Olympic medalist published her memoirs in January of this year, titled “Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith” (Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith). Throughout the book, McLaughlin-Levrone details his past experiences struggling with anxiety and perfection, while highlighting the ways he glorifies God both on and off the track.
“As a Christian, she now existed to glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Matthew 5:16). At the beginning of 2021, I was learning all the ways my life wasn’t about me. It was about showing the world the power, wisdom, goodness, love and forgiveness of God. There were many different ways to do it. “Off the court, I could do it by serving others, putting their needs before mine, and being excited when God did a remarkable work in his lives (Philippians 2:3-4),” she wrote.
McLaughlin-Levrone shared how she glorifies God on the track by “running with my whole mind and body,” because running “was the gift God gave me to use, and by using it to the fullest of my ability and humbly redirecting attention to Him, He would be glorified.”
Citing the film “Chariot of Fire” (1981), which tells the story of Christian sprinter Eric Liddell, McLaughlin-Levrone also acknowledged how “(God) is pleased that we do what we were made to do. And whether you win, lose or draw, running the race well is glorifying Him.”
Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA.
Duncan’s teeth
Gigi Duncan is currently interning at Catholic News Agency (CNA). She recently graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she studied business and communications.