Teenage Olympian Sydney McLaughlin Will Attend University of Kentucky Next Year


Sydney McLaughlin, who at 17 years old became the youngest track and field Olympian in U.S. history since 1972, revealed on Monday night that she will attend the University of Kentucky next year.

Many posited that the Union Catholic, N.J. senior would turn pro after lowering the national high school record and world U-20 record to 54.15 this summer, but McLaughlin has always expressed interest in competing at the NCAA level.

McLaughlin chose the Wildcats over the University of Southern California, her only other official visit according to Jim Lambert for NJ.com. The staff at Kentucky includes Kendra Harrison, who set the world record for 100m hurdles this summer and has expressed interest in moving up to the 400m hurdles. 

We did a three-part video interview series with McLaughlin after her Olympic experience that you can view here.

McLaughlin posted this video on Twitter:


She posted this video on instagram tonight:


McLaughlin tweeted this after her official visit:


Sydney McLaughlin after qualifying for the Olympics.