The Sydney and Femke present and the Battle of Two Coaches
Sydney McLaughlin Levrone is among the many most interesting athletes in American observe and subject historical past. An athletic prodigy, Sydney has labored lengthy and exhausting to good her specialty, the 400-meter hurdles, placing the WR into the unimaginable realm of fifty.68.
Over the previous few years, Sydney has labored with Bobby Kersee, one in every of our most interesting, if not most eccentric, athletic coaches in your complete sport. Eccentricity is just not a nasty factor, and his athletes love him.
Bobby Kersee has coached nice multi-eventers, like his spouse, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and nice sprinters, like Allyson Felix. He has a positive group of athletes from Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Athing Mu, Taylor McLaughlin (Sydney’s brother), Brandon Miller, Jenna Prandini, and Keni Harrison. Bobby develops sprinters, hurdlers, multi-eventers, you identify it, Bobby has coached the occasion.
I first met the man in 1994, sitting within the stands in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he knew me. He sat beside me and commenced discussing Ben Johnson, the disgraced Canadian sprinter. Bobby hoped the man would break a WR once more, and as he was being examined repeatedly, it could present that simply because somebody provides medication to a routine doesn’t make the athlete superior. “You cannot make a racehorse out of a workhorse,” Bobby stated. He was incensed that followers may assume there was a straightforward highway to greatness in our sport.
With all due candor and respect, I believe Bobby Kersee is out of his thoughts, however in a great way. I recall a dialog with Bobby about being practically arrested sporting a hoodie and ordering a pizza in California till the police officer observed it was Bobby. The person is painfully sincere, and he’s a superior coach. His strangeness is just not an act however an instance of how distinctive characters are in no matter their specialty.
Final yr, Bobby was being given a whole lot of unhealthy media as a result of neither Sydney nor Athing Mu was racing a lot. Fact is, two completely different conditions. I’m not certain he was accountable, however he protects his athletes.
Athing Mu is one other little one prodigy, and he or she wanted a break. When she misplaced in Budapest, she was mad and returned to Nike Pre Basic with fireplace in her eyes. Bobby inspired her to take a break and supported her construct to Pre. She will probably be prepared in 2024 for Paris, mark my phrase. Final yr, Bobby was chatting with me through telephone and informed me that, within the close to future, Athing, when she was prepared, would go for the 800m world document. I’ve no cause to not imagine him.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wanted a break. Though her interviews have been few and much between, they’ve been large. I’ve to say Sydney is a wonderful interviewee, however she appeared like 2023 was a yr to resume. She was injured earlier than Budapest and was not seen for the remainder of the season. I imagine Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will return in 2024, however I do know little about her damage restoration.
Bobby Kersee has a improbable observe document, no pun supposed, of getting ready athletes to compete of their most difficult races. Sydney McLaughlin has your complete world gunning for her within the 400m hurdles. Her foray into the 400m flat in 2023 gave her a respite from the ten-hurdle race, the 400m hurdles. However in racing in 2023, Sydney developed a knee challenge.
Within the final 16 months, Femke Bol has honed her velocity, endurance, and focus. In winter 2023, Bol broke the WR for the 400 meters indoors. Open air, she received the 400-meter hurdles, minus Sydney, and took gold within the 4x400m after collapsing within the combined 4x400m on the end line.
Femke Bol is coached by Swiss coach Laurent Meuwly. Laurent took Femke apart after Tokyo 2021, the place she ran 52.03 ER for the 400-meter hurdles and commenced to vary her steps. The purpose was to run seven hurdles with 14 steps after which, over the past three hurdles, transfer to fifteen steps as soon as once more. The idea was to make use of Femke’s robust end to her benefit.
Final summer time, on the London Diamond League, Femke Bol improved her private finest to 51.45, a brand new European document for the 400-meter hurdles. What’s going to she run in 2024?
This previous World Indoors, March 1-3,2024, Femke Bol broke the WR at 400 meters for a second time and ran a superb leg on her workforce (Netherlands) 4x400m, taking a second gold.
Laurent Meuwly has honed Femke Bol’s spectacular 400m flat velocity and constructed her velocity over the previous a number of winters, the place she has despatched Nationwide information, World Information, and European information over the 400 meter flat.
Femke Bol famous, “My favourite occasion is the 400m hurdles.” She has considerably improved in velocity and power since 2023 and must be able to problem Sydney McLaughlin Levrone in Paris.
What’s fascinating is that each Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone are sponsored by New Stability Athletics, the world’s largest privately held footwear firm. At $7.5 billion in gross sales, New Stability helps the game with athletes in North America and Europe and occasions globally.
The TRACK at New Stability, positioned on their campus close to Boston, has hosted two world-class indoor conferences, one in 2023 and one in 2024. This yr, they hosted the NCAA Division 1 Indoor and their NB Indoor Nationals. In 2023, Femke Bol ran a world finest for the five hundred meters, opening her grand yr in 2023.
New Stability loves the observe. Their workforce makes very good trainers and specialty trainers. Do you assume they notice how large Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol may very well be in 2024?
The ladies exemplify what New Stability stands for, utilizing their God-given skills to pursue excellence via wholesome coaching, racing, and attitudes.
I sit up for spring 2024 (which begins right now) for a lot of causes.
One will probably be answered in Paris in August 2024, as one in every of my dream races turns into a actuality. I see Sydney McLauglin-Levrone line up with Femke Bol, subsequent to her, within the 400-meter hurdles. And in simply round 50.8 seconds, we’ll see simply who the best Ladies’s 400-meter hurdler on the earth actually is, with the entire most interesting lined up on a purple MONDO observe on the Stade de France, with 80,000 screaming international sports activities followers on-site and billions all over the world on iPhones, Ipads and laptops, watching one of many singular nice races of the Olympiad.
This author can image each coaches, Bobby Kersee and Laurent Meuwly, on completely different sides of the observe as their prized 400-meter hurdlers run the race of their lives. It must be an incredible fifty seconds for the game of athletics.
