It is January of 2014. Through the large glass windows, I can see the weather is typical of a frigid New Jersey winter: snow swirls through tight city streets and the atmosphere is hazy, cold, and gray. Inside the Jersey City Armory, however, the air is hot and stale as the Union County Championship track meet slowly drags on. Every seat in the bleachers, every stairwell, every inch of spare space seems to be filled with miserable sweatpants-clad athletes who have been stuck in the dry, smelly indoor track facility for hours on end. Everything is dull, sweaty, and monotonous, but suddenly, there is a change in the chatter around me.
"The girl's 400 meter dash is coming up soon," I hear a coach say.
Who cares, I think to myself.
"There are rumors that a girl racing today can run it in 55 seconds."
Now this has grabbed my interest - 55 seconds for a women's 400 meter race is very fast, much faster than our school's record.
"Who is she?" another coach asks.
"I don't know," the first coach answers. "Her last name is Mc-something. From Union Catholic. A freshman."
A freshman? It seemed impossible a girl so young could run so fast. This last piece of information was enough to pull me out of my winter track meet stale-air stupor. I forced myself to get out of my seat and walk to the edge of the balcony, where I would be able to watch the race.
When the starting gun went off, one girl quickly pulled ahead. Although the sprint was very short, only 2 laps, she gained a sizable lead very early into the race. Before I knew it she had crossed the finish line, with a time of 56.47 seconds. I was amazed, and so were the two coaches whose conversation I had overheard before.
"That girl going to the Olympics!" one of them said. "I swear, someday she will."
Two years later, my coach's prophecy came true. This July, 16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin, still attending high school at Union Catholic in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, got 3rd place at the Olympic trials in the women's 400m hurdles, securing her spot on Team USA. Of course, I immediately began to brag about how I "knew" an Olympian and how she went to a high school that was down the street from mine. "Syd Da Kid" may be my hometown hero, but she is also:
1. The youngest person to ever make the USA's Olympic track and field team.
2. "The most unhealthy eater there is".
3. On the Honor Roll at Union Catholic High School, with a GPA of 3.55.
4. Part of a very athletic family!
Her father, Willie, competed in the 400 meter run in the 1984 Olympic trials and her mother Mary ran track in high school.
5. One of four siblings.
(Her older brother, Taylor, a student at the University of Michigan, also competed at the Olympic trials this year, but unfortunately did not qualify for the team)
6. A consistent winner.
Sydney has never lost a race at the high-school level. Ever.
7. Passionate about juggling.
In fact, she started a juggling club at her high school
8. Has a lucky Minions blanket that she will take with her to the Olympics
9. Volunteers for Hope Worldwide, a charity that educates New Jersey families about fire and disaster relief.
10. Speaks very well and is mature beyond her years.
Watch her post-Olympic trials speech here.
Needless to say, I cannot wait to watch her race next week in Rio! Best of luck to Sydney and the rest of Team USA!
Here, Sydney poses with Ashley Spencer and Dalilah Mohammed after the three women qualified for the Olympics in the 400 meter hurdles.
