The reigning Olympic and World Champion in the Women’s 400m Hurdles has a losing record in 2023. 

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone is a household name in the sport of Track & Field. She made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro games at the youthful age of 16  and has been the face of United States Track & Field ever since.

Four times she has broken the 400m Hurdles world record. First claiming the world record crown in 2022 with a time of 50.68. Since 2022 she has lowered the world bar three more times, most recently at the 2022 World Championships with a time of 50.68 en route to yet another World title in the 400m Hurdles.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is a five-time world and Olympic champion. So why the losing record in 2023 thus far? Is she missing a step? Is she in a funk? Is it her coaching? Nutrition? Lack of sleep? 

The reality is she is taking losses in 2023 on purpose. 

While at the peak of her young career, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is pushing boundaries and displaying a masterclass in how to approach chasing big dreams with discipline. A discipline that will sometimes require extraordinary but at times abnormal rules of engagement. 

Here are 3 rules of engagement for discipline through the career of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

1.) Discipline Needs Context

Hard work and discipline are not the same thing. Hard work is a measurement of effort. Discipline is a strategic management of effort in relation to a defined purpose. To better understand Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone’s 2023 season thus far, we need context.

February 4, 2023 - Sydney is racing at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, Massachusetts. In a rare turn of events she places fifth in her prelim heat and fails to make the finals of the event. 

Her event at this meet? Not her usual 400m hurdles where she is the best to ever do it. Instead it was the 60m dash. A race she has never competed in in the totality of her career. She ran a 7.33 in her first 60m dash competition.

What is the reigning world champion in the 400m hurdles doing in the fastest sprint in track and field? She’s training with fast runners. She’s getting “speedwork” in and working on getting out of the blocks fast. 

Couldn’t she do this in the privacy of her own training environment and spare herself the embarrassment of losing?

What we see is the mindset and approach to discipline that is rare but can be adopted by anyone serious about pursuing their purpose. We see a willingness to do uncomfortable things in the process of a disciplined approach to training. 

When we lack context we focus on the wrong things. Finishing fifth in a prelim and failing to make the finals of an event seems like a big deal. “What’s wrong with Sydney?”

The context is, she is working on a specific skill necessary to grow into a better 400m hurdler. And in training for that skill, her team felt it would be valuable to actually compete against sprinters. 

She’s not interested in “protecting the brand.” She’s interested in getting better and competing. And her interest in getting better led her and her team to consider entering in a faster race to enter and exit the starting blocks faster than what she is used to.

The truth is, when we’re working day to day on our own endeavors we can begin to get really concerned with “how this looks.” 

A skinny distance runner may be intimidated with entering the weight room with body builders. Why? Because the skinny distance runner has a training plan that calls for the use of less weight and specific lifts valuable for enhancing the body’s ability to run long distances.

So the skinny distance runner puts the 45-lb barbell on his shoulders and lifts right next to the power-lifter who has 400-lbs on the bar. 

If you’re the skinny distance runner, you may feel weak, embarrassed and like a loser. Why? Because you aren’t lifting anywhere near the level of the power-lifter.

But what would lifting 400-lbs have to do with running long distances? 

Nothing. In fact it would make the distance runner less effective at what he’s training to do. 

Hard work would say “DO MORE.” Lift more. Outwork the person next to you. Lift 401-lbs if the power lifter is lifting 400 lbs. 

Discipline says do the appropriate measure of what is needed in the context of what you’re trying to accomplish.

For Sydney McLaughlin and her early season loss we see the equivalent of the skinny distance runner lifting in the gym of powerlifters. 

In essence she’s saying “I’m not here to win the 60m dash in an early season indoor track meet. I’m here to work on a specific thing - getting out of the starting blocks faster. And in order to do that I need to feel what it’s like racing sprinters - who must get out of the blocks - FAST.”

Context is everything when it comes to discipline. Context matters very little when it comes to hard work. 

Discipline requires adherence to the daily process. Occasionally that daily process may look ridiculous to an outside observer. A truly disciplined person has mentally distanced themselves from outsiders perspectives. They aren’t caught in a concern for “how things will look.” They know it won’t make sense to an outsider and they are perfectly content with some outsider confusion as long as there's insider contentment with the plan.

2.) True discipline will require taking L’s

Recently Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stepped in the starting blocks for the second time in the year 2023. Having already lost in the prelims in the 60m dash way back at the beginning of the year, McLaughlin-Levrone is back.

To an outsider it would make sense to get back to a dominating form. Time to go rack up some more wins and “get back on track.” The truth is, Sydney was never off-track. She was deploying a plan and still is.

On June 9, 2023 at the Paris Diamond League meet she’s back to competing. This time in yet another new event for her and she still has yet to toe the line in her 400m hurdles event.

She’s in Paris for one reason. To test herself in the 400m dash against the world’s best. At the meet is Marileidy Paulino the world #1 in the 400m dash.

For years as Sydney has dominated the world in the 400m hurdles going over 10 obstacles en route to world record breaking times that would rival some 400m dash times, there has been a great deal of curiosity on whether Sydney would try to dethrone Paulino in the 400m dash. 

As they squared off on a summer night in Paris it was time to see where Sydney stood in the 400m dash. No more questioning, no more uncertainty, no more wasting energy on all the “what-ifs”. 

That’s what discipline does. It’s not a dream killer by any stretch, but it gives clarity on where we are right now. The undisciplined individual loves the “what-ifs.” They would rather live in endless possibilities in their head than get honest feedback about where things are. 

In the 400m showdown between world champions, Sydney takes yet another loss in 2023. She gets out to a fast start, with splits well within the world leaders in the early goings of the 400m dash. Then she fades.

Down the final 200m of the race, Paulino showcases why she’s the world best. As Sydney tightens up and runs out of gas, Paulino surges. A true tactician, she paced the distance at an elite level.

Paulino takes the crown with a 49.12

McLaughlin-Levrone comes in second with a 49.71

To the untrained eye it seems like this would be bad for the brand. Wouldn’t it benefit McLaughlin-Levrone to set up camp in the 400m hurdles forever and continue to rack up wins? Maybe her team could create a sharp marketing campaign around her dominance. She could even start talking trash on social media, challenging all athletes to compete against her in the event she owns. I can see the social media likes and engagement flooding in.

She could do what most want to do. Build an image of perfection and success and notoriety. She could be the Floyd Mayweather of the 400m hurdles. Undefeated, rich, and a vibrant personality. Part villain, part hero. Fully marketable.

Instead she’s gone a different way. A path that most people are unable to follow. She has followed discipline all the way to this point. 

Again, discipline and hard-work are not the same thing. 

Discipline is a strategic management of effort in relation to a defined purpose.

Her purpose is not to create an image of perfection and success.

Her purpose is to get better at running. To find out what is truly possible.  

“No race I’ve ever run has been perfect. We don’t even know what is actually really possible.” - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

One way you can tell you are disciplined is if you are taking L’s. Discipline requires testing the boundaries of your current abilities. It requires an internal security, confidence and contentment in stacking day after day toward a defined purpose.

A disciplined person finds the limit of where their skills are and slowly enhances. They love the truth.

“Where am I really at in the 400m dash? Well let’s find out.”

49.71

“Okay let’s continue to deploy the plan and see how low we can get that number.”

An undisciplined person is not interested in the truth. They are unwilling to take the L.

They don’t apply for jobs for fear of getting turned down.

They don’t make the sales call for fear of rejection.

They don’t publish their work for fear of criticism or disagreement.

They don’t lift weight at their limit for fear of looking stupid in the gym.

They don’t ask for help and they don’t want to actually see where the gap is between their skillset and their defined purpose.

3.) Discipline = Contentment + Joy + Humility. 

So how does someone develop the ability to do what Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is doing? Is it just reserved for the world elite athlete? Was she born this way? Does she have traits that can’t be duplicated?

Certainly on the track she does. There is a God-given limit to my ability to run around the track that I can’t match what Sydney is doing.

But I believe the mindset and approach to discipline is there for the taking for all of us. 

It first begins with establishing how we are misusing the term in “performance culture.” Our culture is obsessed with achieving and driving and success. And in being obsessed with these things we have placed a high value on our understanding of the term. The problem is we misuse the term all the time.

“Hard work” and “Discipline” are often used interchangeably and if we’re ever going to increase our level of discipline in our pursuits we must separate the two.

Hard work is a measurement of effort. Typically in contrast to “laziness” or apathy.

Discipline is the strategic management of effort toward a defined purpose.

It’s pushing and pulling.

It’s force and restraint.

It’s work and rest.

It's imbalance and balance.

It’s fighting hard and letting go.

It’s focus and release.

It’s all kinds of things with tremendous nuance. But most importantly it’s adherence to the plan.

In order to have a plan, we need a guide. For Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone we see the final piece in the mystery of her high performance in 2023. We see the mad-scientist coach, Bobby Kersee.

Bobby Kersee is one of the greatest track coaches in the world. From the UCLA Bruins track and field Kersee coaches a stable of some of the best runners in the world. Longtime coach of Allyson Felix, 21-time world and Olympic champion in the 100m, 200m, and 400m distances who many believe is the best female runner in American history. Kersee also coaches world #1 in the 800m distance, American Athing Mu who recently won an Olympic gold medal in the Tokyo games.

When did Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone join Bobby Kersee and this elite stable of athletes?

The summer of the Tokyo Olympics.

She won her first gold medal in the 2016 games. She was already at the peak of the sport when she decided it was time to get more serious about her training. 

At a time when she could double down on her own expertise and claim to know everything about how to win at the 400m hurdles, she humbled herself and decided to sit under the tutelage of a coaching legend.

That’s the sign of a disciplined performer. Discipline will require a few absolutes to be in order.

Contentment - which we talk at length about in Sit Down and Rest. 

Joy - There must be a sense of enjoyment in the process and the journey.

And humility. Discipline at it’s core is obedience to the plan. You won’t find a truly disciplined individual who doesn’t accept coaching. Who doesn’t think they need an extra set of eyes on their processes and approach to their work.

Contentment, joy, and humility.

In any interview you find of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone over the last two years you will often hear her say

“Whatever Bobby says I do it.”

“Whenever Bobby wants me to run I’ll run..”

“I don’t know.. Bobby said it was a good idea..”

Of course there are pitfalls with this approach on the extremes. 

But at the core is a humility that says, “I want to be coached. I need someone else to bring out the best in my potential.”

A “hard-worker” bangs their head against the wall with soul-crushing effort to get where they want to go on their own.

A disciplined individual is strategic in managing their effort. It may require outsourcing a good deal of the process to a coach and a community in order to focus on the simplicity of doing what needs to be done on a daily basis with contentment in the plan and joy in the process.

The three rules of engagement of discipline.

1. Discipline Needs Context

2. True Discipline Will Require Taking L’s

3. Discipline = Contentment + Joy + Humility