Kentucky's Sydney McLaughlin Named National Athlete of the Week

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky track and field freshman Sydney McLaughlin (who appeared on Sports Illustrated cover last summer) was named National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday, Dec. 12 following her historic collegiate debut last Friday.

McLaughlin won the Hoosier Open 300 meters in 36.12 seconds. That was the American junior record, the second fastest time in American history, second fastest in collegiate indoor history and seventh fastest in world history.

As USTFCCCA noted, historic and McLaughlin go in the same sentence quite a bit. Just last year, McLaughlin became the youngest athlete to make the U.S. Olympic Track & Field team since Carol Lewis and Denean Howard qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, which the Americans boycotted.

The next time McLaughlin will take the track is in mid-January at the Kentucky Invitational.