After returning home from the Tokyo Olympics, sprinter Allyson Felix was welcomed by her daughter Camryn and the rest of her family. She had a meal worthy of a champion from the Harold & Belle’s Restaurant.
The 2020 Tokyo Games was the fifth Olympics for Felix and earned her 11th medal, making her the most decorated track and field Olympian.
Felix has won several accolades; she was named on Time Magazine’s list of Most Influential People. She is the five-time winner of the USATF Athlete of the Year, also known as the Jesse Owens/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award.
In 2012, she became the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year. When Nike threatened to cut down their sponsorship by 70% because she was pregnant, Felix spoke out about it and left the multi-billion dollar. The backlash from the ordeal caused Nike to change their policies to female athletes. She ultimately created her own shoe brand named Saysh.
Felix is an unstoppable force and her skill on the track and off has created a legacy. For over 20 years, Felix has showcased her proficient track abilities. Felix considers her sprinting talent to be a gift from God.
Her track career began at Los Angeles Baptist High School where she qualified for the CIF State Championships for the 200m as a freshman. The next year, she finished second in the same event during the Nike Indoor Nationals.
She credits her coach Jonathan Patton to her early success. Her high school teammates gave her the nickname “chicken legs” because of her diminutive size and lean legs. Despite her size, she was able to deadlift 270 pounds.
By 2001, Felix was a member of Team USA and earned a gold medal in the 100m during the World Youth Champs in Hungary. As a senior, Felix traveled to Mexico and England to compete. During the Pan American Game, Felix won a gold medal on the 4×100 relay and a bronze in the 200m.
Instead of running track for USC, Felix turned pro while studying there. She graduated with a degree in elementary education.
Felix made her Olympic debut during the Athens Games in 2004 and earned silver in the 200m. The next year, Felix won a gold medal in the 200m during the IAAF World championships. As her career progressed, Felix proved to be an asset for relays.
In 2007, Felix won gold for the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m events during the Worlds. In the Beijing Olympics, Felix ran a solid second leg in the 4x400m relay to win a gold medal while getting a silver in the 200m.
In 2009, she traveled to Berlin to compete in the IAAF Worlds. Her 22.02 run in the 200m gave her gold; she also helped Team USA pace the 4x400m. The next year, she brought back gold for the 4x400m relay in the World Indoor competition.
Felix used her influence to impact younger generations through her work with the organization Right to Play.
After coming in second for the 400m and third in the 200m during the 2011 Worlds, Felix competed in four events during the 2012 London Olympics. Felix, along with Carmelita Jeter, Tianna Madison, and Bianca Knight, won a gold medal in the 4×100 relay and broke the 27-year-old world record with a 40.82 time. Felix also won gold in the 200m and the 4x400m relay and took home a silver in the 100m.
While on the verge of becoming the first to take four golds in the same event at the World Championship in 2013, Felix sustained a hamstring injury during the 200m finals. Her brother and agent, Wes Felix, carried her off the track.
“I was really hoping to go out there and put together a great race,” she said in a statement at the time. “Now I am consulting with doctors to figure out what is going on with my right hamstring.”
In 2014, Felix became a sports diplomat for the U.S. Department of State and she traveled Brazil and shared the joy of sports with hundreds of youth.
Felix made her return to the Worlds in 2015, winning gold in the 400m and a silver in the 4x100m at the World relays. The next year, Felix competed in her fourth Olympics earning golds in the 4x100m and the 4x400m as well as a silver in the 400m.
In 2018, she married Kenneth Ferguson and gave birth to her daughter Camryn. Felix returned to the track in July 2019 to compete in the USATF Outdoor championship. At the World Outdoor Championships, she won a gold in the 4x400m mixed relay, passing Usain Bolt to have the most gold medals in history.
She trained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to qualify for the 400m and the 4x400m in the Olympic trials. In Tokyo, Felix ran a 49.46 time in the 400m to win her first bronze medal. In the 4x400m relay, Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, and Athing Mu earned a gold medal.
Felix left her mark on the global stage leaving a legacy to inspire future generations.
