WATCH: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stars in "This is SportsCenter" commercial

On3 imageby:Tyler Thompson02/03/23

MrsTylerKSR

You’ll soon spot a familiar face during commercial breaks on ESPN. Former Kentucky track star and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stars in the latest version of the iconic “This is SportsCenter” ads.

In the 15-second spot, SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm comes to Sydney’s cubicle to see if she has a minute to catch up. Sydney checks her schedule and says she’s got 51.46, 51.41, and 50.68-second breaks coming up. Those are, of course, Sydney’s world-record times in the 400m hurdles going back to the 2021 Olympics. She’s broken her own world record three times, most recently in the 2022 World Championships.

The UK water bottle on the desk is a nice touch.

The commercial, which will debut during North Carolina vs. Duke on Saturday, also includes Providence mascot Friar Dom in the background. If you ask me, his cameo is nothing compared to that of former KSR writer Maggie Davis, who was Damian Lillard’s cubemate in this 2019 spot:

Sydney finishes in Top 5 of KY Sports Figure of the Year voting

This is the second time we’ve mentioned Sydney this week. On Monday, the results of the Lexington Herald-Leader 2022 Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year voting were released and Sydney finished fourth behind fellow Wildcats Oscar Tshiebwe, Abby Steiner, and Rhyne Howard. She received 519 votes from the panel of 143 media members, 12 for first place.

Sydney was the runner-up for the Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year award in 2021 after winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Former Kentucky wide receiver and Frankfort native Wan’Dale Robinson finished first. Sydney joins David Justice, Randall Cobb, Anthony Davis, Lamar Jackson, and Ja Morant as the only pro athletes who did not grow up in Kentucky to finish in the top ten twice.

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2024-03-28