Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Discusses Overcoming Fear with Faith at Pepperdine University’s President Speaker Series
Purpose is not found in one’s accomplishments. At least it isn’t for Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone—a four-time Olympic gold medalist and the world-record holder in the 400-meter hurdles.
Instead of basing her identity on achievements, McLaughlin-Levrone chooses to pursue a different path of meaning, one founded on faith, perseverance, and commitment to personal growth. She recently joined the Pepperdine community at a special President Speaker’s Series/Well event to discuss how this philosophy fuels her goals on and off the track.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s appearance at the President’s Speaker Series was the final in this year’s series, which featured owner and president of In-N-Out Burger Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, Classic Learning Test’s founder and CEO Jeremy Wayne Tate, and former President of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
“Worship is bigger than lifting our voices in song together, though that's a part of it,” said president Jim Gash (JD ’93) introducing McLaughlin-Levrone. “It's our whole lives that we dedicate in worship. It is the use of the gifts that we give back in praise to the giver of those gifts. Our guest tonight is a quintessential example of what it looks like to be worshipful in every aspect of one's life.”
In a Q and A style format that featured race footage and excerpts from the book Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, Gash and McLaughlin-Levrone traced her faith testimony through the different stages of her prolific career.
Gash and McLaughlin-Levrone during the Q and A
The conversation revealed that at age 6 McLaughlin-Levrone competed in and won her first organized race in order to secure a candy bar from her parents. Fast forward 10 years, and at 16, she qualified to compete in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics games—the youngest athlete ever to earn a spot on the US Olympic track team.
Despite her unprecedented early success, McLaughlin-Levrone reported that these initial races on the international stage were “terrifying.” Fear lingered beyond her first Olympics. Consumed by the pressure she felt to perform, achieve, and win on a consistent basis, McLaughlin-Levrone struggled with the foundation of her identity throughout college and the 2019 World Championships, where she placed second in the 400-meter hurdles.
Despite excelling athletically, the track star found the stress of her competitive career to be overwhelming. She knew she had to make a change.
While training for the 2020 Olympic games, McLaughlin-Levrone committed herself to Jesus Christ. During that time, she started dating her now-husband, Andre Levrone. She credits him with introducing her to Christ’s Gospel of mercy and freedom—the same Gospel that fueled her triumphs on the track.
“I grew up believing that God is a God of wrath, a God of rules, and I was always terrified of being on his bad side,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “I was always living in fear, but hearing of God's mercy—of the love and grace he extends through his son Jesus Christ and the freedom that he gives through his sacrifice—I learned that I am enough. I learned that it’s okay because he paid for it all, and I'm not my past; I'm not my mistakes; I'm not a race, a win or a loss; I'm not a medal . . . The freedom that [these realizations] gave me completely transformed everything in my life.”
Seaver College students listening to the presentation
Running for the glory of God alone, McLaughlin-Levrone found renewed purpose in her athletic endeavors. Since then, she has competed in two Summer Olympics (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024) and two World Championships. In each of these high-stakes competitions, McLaughlin-Levrone found success, winning four Olympic gold medals, four World Championship gold medals, and setting two world records.
“I just knew God was in control, and I knew that the story was already written,” McLaughlin-Levrone said, describing her mindset before racing for her first Olympic gold. “[That race] was really just me getting to go out there and use the gift he'd given me to honor and glorify him.”
The Olympian’s testimony was presented to an amphitheatre filled with Pepperdine faculty, staff, and students. Her message of defying fear in favor of faith resonated with everyone in the audience, particularly with undergraduate students.
Waves Worship performed two sets at the event
“It was exciting to hear about her resilience,” said Clarissa Lalin, a Seaver College nursing student. “I was curious about how she trained her mind to go through so much athletic training despite wins and losses because, as a college student, we have so much going on in our day-to-day lives. It was fascinating to hear how Sydney built that mental stability through faith.”
Before and after McLaughlin-Levrone spoke, the audience sang along with two sets of praise songs offered by Waves Worship, Pepperdine’s campus worship collective. The reverent music highlighting the grace of God aptly punctuated the Olympian’s advice for how to overcome the trepidations of this world.
“I think we all face challenges in life regardless of what arena we're in,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “There's going to be seasons and moments and temptations of fear and anxiety, but where do you go when those moments hit? What do you lean on? What is your foundation? Set your minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”
Watch the President’s Speaker Series/Well event featuring Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on Youtube.