If you still don’t know her name, you better get to knowing it. Sydney McLaughlin made history at the Rio Olympics as the youngest female track athlete in years for the United States. Despite not making it to the finals of her event, the 400m, the buzz surrounding Sydney is insatiable and everyone is already looking towards her future. You need to know her because she will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.
Here’s more on what you should know about this track superstar who oozes #BlackGirlMagic:
She’s still in high school, and will return in September.
“I go back to school in September, I still have two books to read. I don’t even know what the books are. I should. I guess I will have to make it up,” she said.
Her family is full of athletes!
Her dad, Willie was a semi-finalist in the 400m at the 1984 Olympic trials. Her mother also ran in high school, as well as her brother and sister.
She literally just turned 17.
She was 16 up until August 7, which was two days after the Rio Opening ceremonies. How can you be such an athletic powerhouse at this age!? Amazing!
She’s the youngest track athlete for the U.S. in the Olympics since 1972.
Carol Lewis and Denean Howard qualified in 1980, but didn’t compete because the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics.
She almost didn’t run in the Olympic trials.
At the time , she said: “The first day, I got here and I had a nervous breakdown and I wasn’t going to run because I was just so nervous. I think sometimes I get caught up in the fact that I haven’t lost a hurdle race, and then I come here and there are girls who are faster than me. I think just realizing that sometimes you have to lose in order to get better. It’s a big thing for me.”
She thought she wouldn’t end up at the Olympics in until 2020 or 2024.
With her showing this year, she is a already a favorite for Tokyo 2020.
McLaughlin finished fifth in her semi-final. “It’s the end of my season, not the end of my career,” she said.
#USA‘s Sydney McLaughlin tells us “this is just the end of my season, not my career.” https://t.co/LJf9pw7jAv https://t.co/gb7PEk9nGR
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 17, 2016
She’s earned co-signs from track greats.
Superstar Allyson Felix said, “Sydney is a special talent. There’s no doubt that she has the ability to do some great things in this sport at the highest level.”
She set a junior world record at the Olympic trials for Rio.
Her record timing at the trials in Eugene, Oregon was 54.15 seconds. That record hadn’t been broken in 30 years. She also set US national high school, New Jersey junior, and world youth records.
She was named Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, and got her own bottle!
Her favorite Gatorade flavor also happens to be cool blue. That’s one of my favorites too, Sydney!
She can juggle on a unicycle.
Because you really need all the talents you can get!
We can’t wait to cheer on Sydney in 2020!
