Coco Gauff recently praised Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone for her outstanding achievement at the 2024 World Athletics Awards, where the American hurdler was crowned the Female Track Athlete of the Year. McLaughlin-Levrone’s remarkable season included two gold medals at the Paris Olympics, one in the 400m hurdles and another in the 4x400m relay, along with a world record. Gauff resharered a post celebrating McLaughlin-Levrone’s success, calling her performance “absolutely inspiring.”
Interestingly, Gauff had a background in track before committing to tennis, with her mother, Candi, who ran track for Florida State, thinking that Coco could have been a strong 400m sprinter. Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles also suggested that Gauff could have been a hurdler, though Gauff admitted to being scared of the hurdles. Despite this, Gauff feels confident that with proper training, she could have made it to the Olympics, recalling her middle school track success without ever attending a practice.
She even entertained the idea of participating in a local track meet during the off-season to see how fast she could run. However, after a tough sprint training session, she admitted that she was “glad” she chose tennis, as the training had left her exhausted and lying on the ground.
