When Olympic runner and hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and her husband, ex-NFL player Andre Levrone Jr., decided to start a family, they did their best to factor in the international athletic calendar.
“We definitely had it on our radar that you only get so many considered ‘off years’ in track and field when there are no global championships,” McLaughlin-Levrone told Business Insider.
Their calculated approach to parenthood paid off. The 26-year-old is due to give birth to their first child in July 2026. It means she’ll have exactly two years to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games after the delivery.
Andre Levrone Jr. went viral when he was filmed cheering his wife
“It was our prayer and our hope, and we’re grateful that we were blessed to be able to do it at the right time,” she said.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who holds four Olympic gold medals and the world record for the 400-meter hurdles, married Levrone, a former wide receiver, in May 2022 after meeting him through a mutual friend on social media.
His devotion went viral during the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, with a passionate reaction to her triumphant 400-meter race, which she won in under 48 seconds.
A video showed the now 31-year-old loudly cheering from the sidelines and congratulating her as she walked up to him after the race, the US flag around her shoulders.
McLaughlin-Levrone said her husband is thrilled at the prospect of fatherhood and is helping her take care of her and her baby’s health as she enters her third trimester.
The early months, she said, were characterized by all-day morning sickness.
“Thankfully, we’ve moved past that stage, but training definitely looks different these days,” she said.
She continues to run and lift weights, but is taking things at a slower pace because the baby’s health “comes first.”
McLaughlin-Levrone believes in self-care
“I’m still trying to maintain some sense of normalcy on the track, but I’ve dialed back the intensity, and it’s not as rigorous,” McLaughlin-Levrone, a spokesperson for the new “Heal Like a PRO” branding campaign for Band-Aid, explained.
”As you can imagine, with pregnancy, different things come up, whether it’s pelvic soreness, round ligament pain, or neck tenderness.”
She said her self-care regimen includes “detaching” and “taking some time for myself.”
“I like to get off of social media, go for walks,” the New Jersey native explained. ” My husband and I love to listen to music together or watch a movie.
“We’re really just taking some time to appreciate the season of life that we’re in before we welcome our little girl.”
McLaughlin-Levrone laughed at the suggestion that, given her parents’ genes, the baby would no doubt make a great athlete.
However, she said there was no way she or Levrone, who had a contract with teams including the Baltimore Ravens, would force her to follow in their footsteps.
The Olympics beckon in 2028
“Obviously, we’re going to encourage her to try different sports and different activities, and whatever she’s drawn to,” McLaughlin-Levrone added. “But I want her to excel in whatever it is she decides to pursue.”
As for her own career, the mother-to-be said she hopes to return to track and field soon after her daughter’s birth, with her sights firmly set on the Olympics in LA, the family’s adoptive home.
“I’m just excited to have my daughter and see her grow and develop, and for her to see her mom go back to doing what she loves and train at the highest level possible to strive for her dreams,” she said.
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