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Olympics 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has expressed her delight after being inducted in the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame following her record-breaking season.
Olympics 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been inducted into the University of Kentucky (UK) Hall of Fame owing to her success on the track.
McLaughlin-Levrone made history when she became the first woman to win back-to-back 400m hurdles Olympics gold medals at the Paris 2024 Games while breaking the world record to set a new mark of 50.37 seconds in the process.
The accolades keep coming for the sprinter as she was among six inductees in the UK Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024 on Friday.
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17:39 - 20.09.2024
'Even running to breakfast was a competition!' - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone praises family's influence in her journey to stardom
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has heaped praise on her family, including her husband, for their crucial roles in helping shape her to be the dominant hurdler she now is.
Others were Olympics 100m hurdles bronze medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (women’s track and field; 2016-18), John Cropp (administration and coach; 1991-2013), Henrik Larsen (rifle; 2018), Jodie Meeks (men’s basketball; 2007-09) and Corey Peters (football; 2006-09).
"It means so much," McLaughlin-Levrone, who spent one year with Kentucky's track & field program, said as per Aol.
"Only coming here for a year, it was an amazing year. So being able to have an impact that warrants me even being where I am today — being inducted — it just means so much.
"And the UK family has always been so sweet and welcoming every single time, and so supportive during things like the Olympics, so it's a huge honor to be here."
McLaughlin-Levrone won the NCAA and SEC crowns in 400m during her time with the Wildcats in 2018, setting a college-record time of 52.75 seconds along the way.
That grounding set her to the path of success that she has been on since, going on to win back-to-back Olympics gold medals.
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19:20 - 20.09.2024
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Brittany Brown has overcome adversities, including suffering from endometriosis to become an Olympic medallist and Diamond League champion in 2024.
"My year here was hard — I'm not going to act like it wasn't — as it is for many college athletes all over the country," McLaughlin-Levrone said during her induction speech, "but I wouldn't change it for the world, honestly. I would not be the woman that I am had I not attended UK."
The UK was well represented at the Paris Olympics as besides McLaughlin-Levrone, 100m hurdles champion Masai Russel and Camacho-Quinn who won bronze over the distance are products of the institution as well as 110m hurdles silver medalist Daniel Roberts.
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