Golden Felix finale as USA storm to 4x400m Olympic victory
@allysonfelix,
![Allyson Felix wearing a uniform: The US victory in the women's 4x400m relay gave Allyson Felix a seventh Olympic gold medal]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"77","h":"51","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAN3d9B.img?h=512&w=768&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=430&y=144"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAN3d9B.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=430&y=144"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAN3d9B.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=430&y=144"}})
Early life and family
Allyson Felix was born on November 18, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Paul, an ordained minister and professor of New Testament at The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, California, and Marlean, an elementary school teacher at Balboa Magnet Elementary. Her older brother Wes Felix is also a sprinter. He runs the 200 m, was the USA Junior Champion in 2002 and the Pac-10 champion in 2003 and 2004 while running for USC. Wes now acts as the agent for his sister. Felix describes her running ability as a gift from God, “For me, my faith is the reason I run. I definitely feel I have this amazing gift that God has blessed me with, and it’s all about using it to the best of my ability.”
High school
Allyson Felix attended Los Angeles Baptist High School in North Hills, California, where she was nicknamed “Chicken Legs” by her teammates, because the five-foot-six, 125-pound sprinter’s body had skinny legs despite her strength. Her slightness was seemingly at odds with her speed on the track and strength in the gym as while still in high school, she deadlifted at least 270 pounds.[12] Felix credits much of her early success to her high school sprint coach, Jonathan Patton.
Felix began to discover her athletic talents after she tried out for track in the ninth grade. Just ten weeks after that first tryout, she finished seventh in the 200 m at the CIF California State Meet. In the coming seasons, she became a five-time winner at the meet. In 2001, at the Debrecan World Youth Championships, Felix achieved her first international title in the 100 meters. In 2003, she was named the national girls’ “High School Athlete of the Year” by Track and Field News. As a senior, Felix finished second in the 200 m at the US Indoor Track & Field Championships. A few months later, in front of 50,000 fans in Mexico City, she ran 22.11 seconds, the fastest in history for a high school girl (though it could not count as a world junior record because there was no drug testing at the meet).
Felix graduated in 2003, making headlines by forgoing college eligibility to sign a professional contract with Adidas. Adidas paid her an undisclosed sum and picked up her college tuition at the University of Southern California. She has since graduated with a degree in elementary education.
Allyson Felix
 Felix at the 2016 Rio Olympics
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Allyson Michelle Felix |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | November 18, 1985 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Home town | Santa Clarita, California |
| Education | University of Southern California |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event(s) | Sprint |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) |
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Medal record
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Allyson Michelle Felix OLY (born November 18, 1985) is an American track and field sprinter. From 2003 to 2013, Felix specialized in the 200 meter sprint and gradually shifted to the 400 meter sprint later in her career. Her racing repertoire also spans the 100 meters, 4 x 100 meter relay, and 4 x 400 meter relay.[2] At 200 meters, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2005–2009), and two-time Olympic silver medalist (2004 and 2008). At 400 meters, she is the 2015 world champion, 2011 world silver medalist, 2016 Olympic silver medalist, 2017 world bronze medalist, and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist.
Felix has won six additional Olympic gold medals as a member of the United States’ women’s relay teams: four at 4 × 400 meters (consecutive in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020), and two at 4 x 100 meters (2012 and 2016). The 2012 U.S. Olympic 4 x 100 meters team also set the women’s 4 x 100 meters world record that still stands. Felix is the only female track and field athlete to ever win seven Olympic gold medals. With eleven total Olympic medals, she is the most decorated female Olympian in track and field history, and the most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history. Felix is also the most decorated athlete, male or female, in World Athletics Championships history with 18 career medals, and has the most gold medals, with 13.
Felix’s 200 meters best of 21.69 seconds from 2012 ranks her seventh on the all-time list. In the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2015 World Championships, she ran the fastest split ever recorded by an American woman, and third fastest split ever after Jarmila Kratochvilova and Marita Koch, at 47.72 seconds. Felix is also a four time Diamond League winner. She is a participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency‘s “Project Believe” program. She is coached by Bobby Kersee.
Allyson Felix is included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
