Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's Secret to Staying Awake Is a 10 Minute Ice Bath

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is good at many things, but she’s great at breaking records. A natural-born athlete, the 24-year-old hurdler and sprinter made history as the first woman to break the 52-second and 51-second barrier in the 400 meter hurdle. Add that fact to her gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and her multiple World Athletic Championships wins, and McLaughlin-Levrone is one to watch going into the 2024 Olympics. But her career has been budding since her elementary school days. Her first official race went down when she was just six years old. Unsurprisingly, the now-professional athlete finished first in the 100 meter race held in their hometown. 

While maintaining a healthy lifestyle takes precedence for the New Jersey-native, she’s also an active member at her church in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband Andre Levrone, who just so happens to be her live-in wellness consultant. As the June Olympics approach, McLaughlin-Levrone has been keeping busy—signing a deal with Neutrogena as an ambassador, releasing her first book, "Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith," and starring in a commercial for The Marvels. 

Through a Zoom screen, the Olympian details how she keeps her health at the forefront of a busy life.

I would say the Gua Sha or any of the face sculpting tools. I've honestly had one of them for years and just never used it, mainly because I don't know how to use it properly. I always tell myself that I’m going to get into it or watch a tutorial, but it never happens.

I know a lot of people hate the cold and sitting in ice for 10 minutes does not sound appealing to anybody, but I love an ice bath. After three minutes everything goes numb, so you’re golden for the next seven. It's so good for the body and inflammation. I’m more alert and more awake after.

It's the fact that there are so many trends that I can't get on board with. You scroll on Instagram and TikTok and you see a different trend every day. It’s overwhelming, so I don't even look at them anymore because I can never tell what's real. There's always some new thing that you have to buy and it’s too much for me.

I would probably wake up and start with a cold glass of lemon water to help my body reset and detox. Then I would probably go get a facial—the whole thing. Hydration, relaxation, extractions, all the good stuff. I love getting my nails done. That, to me as an athlete, is really taking care of myself. My toes and my fingernails can get really dirty, especially working out all the time. Then I would go to the beach. I would read and soak in the sun, while getting some vitamin D. Then I would come home, relax with my husband, and get some good food in me. 

Doing my skincare is so relaxing to me. I'm excited to start my day knowing that my skin's taken care of. If I feel like my natural beauty is at its peak, I’m more productive with the rest of my day. I use all Neutrogena, which is super affordable and always easy to stock up—especially if you have a little CVS near you. I love their HydroBoost Cleansing Gel and their HydroBoost Water Cream. Both have hyaluronic acid, which is super good for hydrating the skin and keeping it plump and moisturized throughout the day. I also love their makeup remover wipes. I use them after practice, because I'm always sweating.

I’d have to go with a luxe facial—all in. Let’s do the masks, let's do the red light, let's do all this stuff. Just being able to sit there and relax and know that I'm still getting this wonderful treatment, feels like a very hampering moment. 

Very simple, clean, and calm. As long as I feel clean and it's not overwhelming or stressful, then I'm good.

My husband is the person that I go to for a lot of things because he’s my biggest source of encouragement, but also a straight shooter. He's gonna be honest with me. The wellness space can  get pretty complicated and he helps to break it down and keep the top level really simple.

You would find Headspace and Abide. Abide is an app, kind of like Headspace, but a Christian version. You get Bible stories, sleep casts, and music. When I can't sleep, whether it's the night before a race or I'm just up because of a long day, these two always help me relax and put me to sleep.

I go to the beach and just read. Seriously. I’m very grateful to live in LA, where I can drive 10 minutes and do that. The beach is my getaway place where I can just look out and work through whatever's going on in life.

Focusing on my health is a huge one—not only as an athlete, but also just in everyday life. So much of how we experience life is because of how our bodies feel, what we're putting in it, and how we're taking care of it. I'm huge on what I eat, how much I sleep, taking care of my skin, and ice baths because it really does make a difference. 

I'm very big into my faith, so I think trusting God in the season of life, especially with the Olympics and coming up, is my focus. Everything else flows from there. It keeps me grounded and rooted in what matters most to me. 

I feel the happiest at home on the couch in PJs watching a movie with my husband. 

I got myself into a pickle a while ago right before a big photo shoot. I had some breakouts and I needed to get rid of them. I did a spot treatment the night before and I woke up with all of these dark spots all over my face—dark circles everywhere. It was the maximum strength cream and I was definitely not supposed to use it the way I did. Luckily they were able to layer on so much makeup and cover it, but I was terrified. It literally looked like there were polka dots on my face.

People are always promoting stuff and they’ll say, It's gonna work, you should do it, you should buy it. But everybody's skin is different and not everything works for everyone. I don't like when people push something to sell it to a point where it makes you believe that it's going to work for you. The reality is that’s not always true. 

I would tell her that wellness is a journey, not so much a destination. It's always changing. You're always growing and finding new things that either work for you or don't work for you. Wellness isn’t so much a goal that can be completely attained, but rather something to always continue to strive towards. I was always thinking that once I got to a certain point, then I would be good. But, it's a never ending growth cycle.