At the age of 16, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was the youngest U.S. track and field athlete to compete in the Olympics since 1972. Eight years later, she’s broken the world record in the 400 meter hurdles five times and won two Olympic gold medals—yet, by the time listeners tune in, these stats may already be out of date.
Update: Sydney has now broken her record six times and won another Olympic gold medal in the 400m hurdles.
On today’s episode of the Great Stories podcast, David Wollen is partnering with Jason Romano from Sports Spectrum by sharing a conversation he had with Sydney earlier this year where they talked about preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics and the release of Sydney’s new book about her life and faith called Far Beyond Gold.
More Related to the Olympics and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
- Listen to more episodes from the Sports Spectrum podcast here.
- Read an excerpt from Sydney’s new book about how she learned to overcome anxiety and glorify Christ on and off the track.
- Get your own copy of Far Beyond Gold.
- Listen to this week’s Haven Today series about finding our identity in Christ, rather than our own accomplishments.
- Become familiar with more Olympic athletes who put God before gold.
- Eric Liddell is a role model for the way Sydney approaches sports and faith. Learn more about his life and legacy when you listen to last week’s podcast.
Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith
One month before the Paris 2024 Olympics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the 400m hurdles world record for the fifth time. Arguably one of the most dominant athletes at the Olympics this year, she is also a follower of Christ.
From lifelong battles with perfectionism and anxiety to persistent questions about her identity and whether she was “enough,” Sydney is no stranger to obstacles on and off the track. As a multi-year world champion and Olympic gold medalist, her pursuit of perfection and people-pleasing continued for years … until God broke into her story with His overwhelming grace, transforming love, and empowering truth.
In Far Beyond Gold, Sydney takes you behind the scenes of the world stage and shares aspects of her story of faith in a way she has never shared publicly before. Not only will this give you a look at the life and faith of one of the world’s greatest athletes—this book will help you find strength in Christ for whatever hurdles you may be facing in life.
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