MMeet the High School Runner Who Will Be the Youngest Track Athlete to Compete in the Olympics Since 1972
BY
07/12/2016 AT 11:55 AM EDT
Sydney McLaughlin almost didn't run the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.
Now, after setting a world junior record in the 400-meter hurdles, she'll be the youngest American track athlete to compete in an Olympics since 1972, theWall Street Journal reports.
"The first day, I got here and I had a nervous breakdown and I wasn't going to run because I was just so nervous," she told the Journal about the event in Oregon.
"[My coaches] pushed me through it, and now here I am. I am on the team, so I thank them for that."
On Sunday, McLaughlin finished in 54.15 seconds, landing her third place at the trials and securing her a spot at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, according toESPN.
The New Jersey native ran her first competitive track race when she was just 6 years old.
"I think sometimes I get caught up in the fact that I haven't lost a hurdle race, and then I come here and there are girls who are faster than me," she told ESPN. "I think just realizing that sometimes you have to lose in order to get better. It's a big thing for me."
A junior at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, McLaughlin said she didn't experience much pressure heading in to the trials.
"Sometimes, I just forget that I'm 16," she told USA Today. "There's not as much expectation. You know, I don't get paid for this. I'm just here for fun."
Still, she ended the event just two spots behind Sunday's champion Dalilah Muhammad, who ran a 52.88, and one spot behind Ashley Spencer, who clocked in at 54.02.
Now, after setting a world junior record in the 400-meter hurdles, she'll be the youngest American track athlete to compete in an Olympics since 1972, theWall Street Journal reports.
"The first day, I got here and I had a nervous breakdown and I wasn't going to run because I was just so nervous," she told the Journal about the event in Oregon.
"[My coaches] pushed me through it, and now here I am. I am on the team, so I thank them for that."
On Sunday, McLaughlin finished in 54.15 seconds, landing her third place at the trials and securing her a spot at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, according toESPN.
The New Jersey native ran her first competitive track race when she was just 6 years old.
"I think sometimes I get caught up in the fact that I haven't lost a hurdle race, and then I come here and there are girls who are faster than me," she told ESPN. "I think just realizing that sometimes you have to lose in order to get better. It's a big thing for me."
When a 16 YEAR OLD makes the Rio trio!#TrackTown16women's 400m hurdles FINAL, full results:pic.twitter.com/pwTNeCDYeq
16 year-old Sydney McLaughlin's 54.15 in the #TrackTown16women's 400mH is a new World Junior Record!
A junior at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, McLaughlin said she didn't experience much pressure heading in to the trials.
"Sometimes, I just forget that I'm 16," she told USA Today. "There's not as much expectation. You know, I don't get paid for this. I'm just here for fun."
Still, she ended the event just two spots behind Sunday's champion Dalilah Muhammad, who ran a 52.88, and one spot behind Ashley Spencer, who clocked in at 54.02.