The last time Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made a major change to her training was when she started preparing for the 400m flat instead of the 400m hurdles. She wanted to step out of her “comfort zone” and challenge herself. Well, that paid off when she became the 400m National and World champion. But now, the veteran is on the brink of a new chapter, motherhood, and it’s already demanding another change in not just her life but also her training.
Sydney McLaughlin Levrone announced in January 2026 that she and her husband, Andre Levrone Jr., are expecting their first child. Ideally, it meant the Olympian’s training would take a back seat, but McLaughlin-Levrone has admitted that she hasn’t stopped training. However, it’s nowhere near the intensity of frequency it once was.
“Training definitely looks different these days, not as rigorous, but still trying to maintain some sense of normalcy on the track,” McLaughlin-Levrone told Business Insider.
The initial months of her pregnancy saw McLaughlin-Levrone facing all-day morning sickness. But she says “thankfully, we’ve moved past that stage…” However, she is still taking things at a slower pace than usual, to prioritise her baby’s health.
“Whether it’s the running, the lifting, all the different things, my body is changing in good ways. The number one most important thing is, you know, taking care of the baby’s health.”
At the time Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone announced her pregnancy, she was fresh off breaking the American record. She clocked 47.78 seconds in the 400m at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, improving on Sanya Richards-Ross’ previous mark by more than a second. But the real kicker is that McLaughlin-Levrone switched her specialty event from the 400m hurdles to the 400m flat and then set the record.
And yet, having switched her discipline, McLaughlin-Levrone revealed that this was somewhat planned.
“In track and field, you know, you only get so many considered off years where there are no global championships,” the Olympic champion added. “So that was our prayer and our hope, and, uh, we’re grateful that, you know, we were blessed to be able to do it at, at the right time and, uh, you know, hopefully have time to come back for, for the Olympics.
“I definitely have heard of what they call, you know, mom strength when you come back to the track or the field or whatever it is, and, uh, just a different kind of, you know, uh, resilience. It’s gonna be a journey to get back there one step at a time.”
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As of now, Sydney sounds optimistic about returning to the track post her pregnancy. But she did have a few reservations about that earlier. In a February 2026 interview, Sydney answered whether any part of her pregnancy combined with her athletic career was intimidating for her.
She had said, “Those are conversations I think my husband and I had early on, like, what if I’m not the same athlete coming back? What if I’m not as fast?”
However, Sydney back then confessed, “But…I’ve also known my whole life that I wanted to be a mom, you know, and so that’s like a beautiful opportunity and journey that we’re on. And I’m going to cherish that for what it is. And it’ll bring a different type of motivation coming back to the track once we make it through this.”
Clearly, it will be a marathon and not a sprint, something that she may not be used to but is looking forward to.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reflects on her new race
McLaughlin-Levrone will have plenty of examples to choose from, ranging from the iconic Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to Allyson Felix to a host of others. Fraser-Pryce in particular endured a tough pregnancy in 2017, when her recovery from a cesarean delivery took longer than she ever expected. And yet, the Jamaican sprint icon returned to the track, winning gold at the 2019 worlds.
However, the Jamaican sprint star isn’t the only one, as Ana Peleteiro took time off to give birth to her daughter in December 2022 but returned six months later to qualify for the 2023 European Athletics Team Championships. She didn’t win a medal, but she won hearts with her return to the field—though Shaunae Miller-Uibo overshadowed that narrative the same year.
The Bahamian returned to the track four months after giving birth to her son, participating in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in August.
Although Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone knows such a return is possible, she’s treating it like a marathon.
“This is a new type of race I’m running. It’s more of a marathon, not a sprint. I’m so excited to see how this helps mature me in so many different ways, both on and off the track. I’ve always desired to be a mom. This is something I’ve dreamt about for a really long time,” McLaughlin‑Levrone told USA TODAY, via Olympics.com.
“So, being able to do this, and have my daughter hopefully see me continue to strive for excellence on the track, really excited to just inspire her and hopefully have a different type of motivation that gets me excited to continue to chase my goals.”
Only time will tell what kind of timeline Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone follows, but given that her target is the 2028 Olympics, she’s treating her return as a longer journey rather than rushing back. And given the catalog of examples she has at her disposal, the 26-year-old will know exactly what to do when the time comes for her to make her comeback.
