Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion is synonymous with success on the track going by her achievement but things have not been smooth-sailing in her social life.
At 16, McLaughlin-Levrone stepped into the , the first quadrennial Games of her life as a rookie. It came through a heartbreak but it was a learning curve for the teenager whose desire for success could not be curtailed no matter what.
McLaughlin-Levrone's decision to stick with her initial sponsor was decided by her mother when the Olympian was at crossroads.
The three-time world champion lost in the semifinals but it wasn’t her performance that bordered her, rather her painful experience with her love from high school. «I found out that the guy I was going out with at the time had cheated on me. After we broke up, the individual he cheated on me with sent a message on Instagram,» the hurdler revealed according to .
McLaughlin-Levrone, who had a vibrant social life, failed to reconcile with things as the message had brought massive things. «This person mocked me, made fun of me and was about as cruel as one human being can be to another. Though I had been wronged, the antagonist made me out to be the bad guy,» she added.
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Days later, things became public and as a result several bitter voices chased day in day out. Giving a glimpse of the situation, she wrote: «It seemed everyone in my school knew about the broken relationship. That betrayal became a topic for the entire school to whisper about in the hallways and gossip about in person and online.»
The experience rattled the high schooler and she was frightened to come under such unwarranted attacks. This fear kept her away from using social media during her Olympic days and it left a scar on her.