Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dominates the 200m in Olympic warmup

Go Syd, go! Former Kentucky Wildcat and world-record holder, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, set a personal best in the 200-meter dash on Saturday with a blazing time of 20.07 seconds, good for first place at the Los Angeles Grand Prix Track and Field event.

McLaughlin-Levrone is prepping for what could be an epic run (pun entirely intended) at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. These Grand Prix games are essentially dress rehearsals for the Olympic Trials, which will take place starting June 21st. Oddly enough, she likely won’t run the 200-meter dash at the Olympic Trials. She used this race to prep for the 400-meter hurdles, per primary event, working on her spring form.

When asked about her winning performance, Sydney was nonchalant about her dominance: “Meh. You know for [my] second 200 [meter dash] this year, it was pretty acceptable. I was hoping to go under [22 seconds] but you know what, that just takes practice.”

Mclaughlin-Levrone wasn’t the only former Kentucky track star in the race. Former Wildcat, Abby Steiner, who has a record or two of her own, also ran well, finishing second at a time of 22.32.

If you had the Kentucky exacta, it paid.

The race featured some of the fastest women in the world, so a 1-2 finish bodes well for two of Kentucky’s finest going into the Olympic Trials and then the Olympics in Paris. Go get that gold, ladies.