A legend shining with seven Olympic gold medals has announced a return to competition. Allison Felix (41) will run again with the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics as her goal.
The Olympic official website announced on the 28th (Korean time), "Felix has announced her return aiming for the LA Olympics. The American track and field legend said she plans to return with the goal of competing at the 2028 Olympics held in her hometown of LA."
Felix, a mother of two, was born in 1985 and will soon turn 40. But in a recent Time interview she said, "Many of us have been told not to take big, bold challenges. At this age, maybe it would be right to stay at home and take care of the children," yet she asked rhetorically, "But why not?"
She added, "Turn your thinking completely around. Take on that challenge. Show yourself," and said, "I've always heard the tremendous cheers that come down on host country athletes at the Olympics. I want to experience that firsthand," fueling her determination to return.
Of course, to realize her dream Felix must overcome fierce competition, including the U.S. national team trials. She will be approaching 43 by the time the LA Olympics are held. Still, she vowed to at least give it a try.
Felix said, "At 40 I know well that I'm not in my prime. I have no illusions about that," but emphasized, "If I don't even try, I'll be mad at myself. Whatever the outcome, I will be there with my children, cheering for everyone."
Although Felix retired in 2022 and stepped away from the track, expectations are high because this is the comeback announcement of a legend who will go down in track and field history. She holds 11 Olympic medals (seven gold), the most for any female track and field athlete. She also won a whopping 20 medals at the world championships.
Notably, Felix continued her medal streak after returning from childbirth. At the 2019 world championships she won two relay gold medals, and at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 she won bronze in the 400m, surpassing Carl Lewis to set the U.S. track and field record for most medals. She then added a relay gold and a bronze at the 2022 world championships, marking her final international competition medals.
Now Felix is aiming to hunt for medals at the 2028 LA Olympics. Having won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 2004 to 2020, she said she has recently been inspired by athletes in their 40s who remain at the top, such as Tom Brady, LeBron James and Lindsey Vonn.
If Felix joins the Olympic team at age 42, it would be the first case for an American sprinter. Olympic participation at age 40 or older in sprint events is therefore extremely rare. Still, Slovenia's Merlene Ottey once competed at the Olympics at age 44 in 2004 and advanced to the semifinals.
U.S.-based ESPN reported, "Felix and coach Bobby Kersee plan to begin serious training from October and aim to return in 2027. She does not plan to compete regularly in international meets. The LA Olympic athletics schedule begins on July 15, 2028," adding, "Felix will compete against younger athletes, but she is not intimidated. Many of her competitors grew up watching Felix, who first appeared at the 2004 Athens Olympics."
Meanwhile, Felix shared a photo on her social media wearing training gear and posted the message, "It's not over. The world told me to slow down. I will not listen. You shouldn't either."
She also said, "It's been a million years. I never imagined I would come back," adding, "I'm scared and excited. I'm also in the most vulnerable state of my life. I don't know how it will end. But isn't the courage to try more important than the result? Chasing great dreams regardless of age may be the bravest thing we can do."
Felix launched a website to document her comeback process. She said, "There's nothing to prove, but as long as there's something to discover, it's a woman's real-time experiment," and previewed that she would capture an "unfiltered journey."
[Photo] Felix social media.
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