USA Track & Field Photo
Georganne Moline was a 2012 Olympian when she finished second in the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials and had a career best time of 53.14 seconds.
Former Texas star Teahna Daniels was a 2021 Olympic silver medalist in the 4×100 relay, a 2019 U.S. outdoor champion in the 100-meter dash and 2018 NCAA indoor bronze medalist in the 60-meter dash. She ran the 100 in 11.03 seconds to qualify for the 2021 Olympics after finishing in 10.84 seconds in the semifinal round at the U.S. Trials.
Both Moline, an Arizona graduate, and Daniels know former University of Kentucky star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone who is the world record holder and overwhelming favorite to win the 400 hurdles at the upcoming Paris Olympics just like she did in Tokyo in 2021. She ran the 400 hurdles in a world record 50.45 seconds at the recent USA Olympic Trials.
“I have never actually had the chance to compete against Sydney but I have seen her around and watched her in warmups. You can just sense the dedication and determination that she has when she’s in that mode,” Daniels said recently during the Maximum Velocity Track & Field Camp at Centre College in Danville. “She is definitely someone to admire.
“She truly is one of a kind. She is such a special athlete. She’s very diverse and has been like that for a while. She can do a lot of events if she wanted. She did a couple of 100 (meter dashes) and was killing it. Even at Kentucky, she was that way. Sydney has just always been able to run amazing times.”
Moline had to pull out of the 2016 Olympics with a back injury. That’s when 16-year-old McLaughlin-Levrone made her Olympic debut in Brazil before she even got to Kentucky and became a SEC and national champion.
Moline has been a fan of the former UK star for years. She watched her at Kentucky and just kept paying attention as McLaughlin-Levrone got faster and faster.
“I know there are elite athletes but when you watch here what else do you say? Yeah, it’s kind of like that. You get some really special people that come in and change the sport and I definitely think she’s that person,” Moline said. “She’s changed the 400-meter hurdles forever.
“She challenges everyone. It’s crazy to think how fast like 51 seconds in the 400 hurdles really is. It’s incredible. She definitely is very, very special and I love the attention that she’s brought the 400 hurdles as well.”
Moline said McLaughlin-Levrone has made everyone a better athlete because of the way she has challenged everyone to compete against her.
“It’s been fun but the 400 hurdles aren’t supposed to be as easy. My coach has always said work really hard in practice and be really obsessed with the details. That way you can make running look easy when you look at some of these great stars that made running look so easy like Sydney does,” Moline said.
One Response
Looking forward to watch her in upcoming Olympics. She fun to watch and amazing woman off the field as well.