Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the World record holder in the 400 hurdles and the reigning Olympic champion. She is arguably the greatest women’s track athlete of all time, and definitively the best we have ever seen at the high school level. But believe it or not when she was dominating the track world at Union Catholic in New Jersey, there was also another McLaughlin on the team. Just two years older than her was her brother Taylor. And he wasn’t just on the team, he was way out in front of almost everybody who faced off against him.

Regardless of how anyone feels about it, Taylor McLaughlin was a track and field phenom, who was already one of America’s best young talents, even without his sister stealing all of the headlines. But the shadow that Sydney’s success has cast over him, keeps us from realizing just how good he really was. The truth is that Taylor McLaughlin was one of the best hurdlers of his generation in the NCAA. And believe it or not, he is still one of America’s best hurdlers right now. You probably just haven’t been paying attention. 

How good was Taylor McLaughlin in high school? 

Nobody really knows the story of Taylor McLaughlin because his sister has always been the leading story. They both attended Union Catholic in New Jersey, and although Taylor was 2 years ahead of her in school, the moment that she got to high school, she broke the national freshman record in the 400 hurdles. By that point Taylor was clearly one of the best high school prospects in the entire nation. However, there’s a big difference between being one of the best and being the best in all of high school. That difference is what we have already witnessed between Sydney and Taylor. Taylor broke a whole bunch of his own records. He broke the national 15 year old record in the 400 hurdles, and was the New Jersey state champion as a senior in the 400 meter open indoors. This is in addition to winning the 400 hurdles outdoors. He was even the Gatorade boys track athlete of the year for the state of New Jersey as a senior in high school. But nobody remembers that, because Sydney became the Gatorade girls track athlete of the year for the entire nation in both her junior and senior years of high school!

How good was Taylor McLaughlin in college?

Sydney earned those titles outright by becoming an Olympian in 2016 making the semifinals of the 400 hurdles, before returning back to high school. But while she was doing that, Taylor had already started his career in the NCAA. He committed to the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten running his freshman season in 2016. That season he won the Big Ten in the 400 hurdles and went fifth overall at the NCAA championships. But you probably didn’t even notice that he was there at the Olympic Trials in 2016. He’d win the USA Junior championship that year and finish second at the world junior championships in his signature event. That was just the beginning because later on in his college career he would win the Great Lakes regional track athlete of the year award for 2018. But that was also the same year that his sister Sydney broke the collegiate record in the 400 hurdles and became the NCAA champion. After all that he came back for his senior year at Michigan, for what became Sydney’s first season as a pro. He graduated as a 3 time All American in the 400 hurdles alone, not including everything else he did in the relays, the open 200, and the open 400.

Where is Taylor McLaughlin now? 

The story doesn’t end there. Taylor basically disappeared from the track at least officially after his college career ended. But that was until the year 2023. He didn’t just come back, he made his presence felt by running a new PR in the 400 hurdles and qualifying for the USA championships. Then he made it to the final, finishing fifth overall. That is an incredibly big deal because he was unattached while he competed! 

Taylor was a track and field phenom, who was good enough to be the top recruit for every single event in the state of New Jersey. But fans weren’t paying attention because his sister might as well be the Serena Williams of the hurdles. He later became a World Junior medalist, and an NCAA All American, while his sister broke both collegiate and world records. He could have called it a career, and nobody would have blamed him, but something brought him back to the track. Now he is one of America’s best hurdlers heading into the 2024 Olympics. Whether or not he makes team USA is besides the point, because Taylor is not just Sydney’s older brother. Taylor McLaughlin is legit, and it is about time we put some respect on his name, because everybody else who has ever lined up against him in high school, college, and beyond already knows it, even if we weren’t paying attention!

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