Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been ruled “ineligible” to compete in the 200m and 400m at the Diamond League final in Brussels on September 14 and 15, according to Diamond League chief Petr Stastny.
Stastny confirmed on Wednesday that McLaughlin-Levrone had not qualified for either event after announcing a day earlier that she would participate in the Diamond League final. However, league rules state that McLaughlin-Levrone is not eligible to run since she has not made an appearance at any regular season events this year.
In an email to LetsRun.com, Stastny explained why McLaughlin-Levrone will not be able to compete in Brussel, clearing up some confusion about how any athlete could show up at the final without qualifying.
“It is about rules and criteria which must be fulfilled by all to becoming eligible to compete at the WDL Final. Ms McLaughlin-Levrone does not fulfill those criteria, either by accumulating enough points or receiving a wild card,” Stastny said. “The final leg of the Diamond League is not an invitational meeting, and any athlete proposed for a Global Wild Card must have competed at least in one of our events during this season.”
The 25-year-old is coming off of a monumental showing in the Paris Olympics nearly a month ago, capturing gold in the 400m hurdles with a 50.37 world record performance and helping Team USA win the women’s 4x400m relay.
McLaughlin-Levrone chances of grabbing one of the wild cards that Stastny mentioned are low since she did not run in any of the 10 Diamond League meets — and rack up competition points — before the Olympics. However, the league has four global wild card spots in order to ensure that the top talents in the sport appear in the season ending event. But athletes must compete in at least one meet to be considered for the wild card.
McLaughlin-Levrone’s last Diamond League appearance was in the 400m at the 2023 event in Paris when she placed second behind in 49.71 as the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy took the win — a meet record.
There is still a chance McLaughlin-Levrone to enter the Zurich meet on Thursday — to help earn her an appearance in Brussels — but she has not confirmed if she will accept an invitation from organizers of the Zurich event.
