Meet organisers have announced that Olympic champion and record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will compete at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in a move to honour the athlete for her outstanding achievements.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s participation had sparked controversy in the past few days, and the meeting organisers have now amended the programme schedule to facilitate the American. The statement read:
Why Did Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone get special races
“To avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, we confirm that 400m hurdles Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be competing at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme, though not as part of the Wanda Diamond League Final races.
With two additional, special races, the Brussels meeting wants to honour McLaughlin-Levrone, who produced a historic 400m hurdles world record at the Olympic Games in Paris. She will run 400m on Friday at 7.53 pm and 200m on Saturday at 7.53 pm.”
The organisers are delighted McLaughlin-Levrone has chosen the Brussels Diamond League event as her first and only competition after Paris.
Meeting Director Hails McLaughlin-Levrone’s “Incredible” Achivements
“We are extremely honoured that Sydney has chosen Brussels for this unique double,” says Meeting Director Kim Gevaert. “She has impressed me enormously with her double Olympic gold and incredible world record time. I look forward to witnessing her testing her limits in the 400m and 200m. Sydney’s presence is making this year’s event historic.”
McLaughlin-Levrone will already arrive in Brussels on Monday so that she can prepare optimally for her races. At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, she and Kim Gevaert will look back on her Olympics and look ahead to the Memorial.
_________________________
Dive into the vibrant track and field conversation – scroll down to leave your comment and stay connected with the Trackalerts Social community! 🎉
- Follow us on Instagram @trackalerts
- Subscribe to our YouTube @trackalertstv
- Follow us on TikTok @trackalerts
- Follow us on X @trackalerts
- Follow us on Threads @trackalerts
- Like us on Facebook @trackalerts