Felix: "It's the last one for me, I'm going to leave it all out there"

As she prepares for her final appearance on the global stage, Allyson Felix is reflecting on a glittering career that has made her the most decorated athlete in World Athletics Championships history.

Competing in her 10th world outdoor championships, the 36-year-old Felix will line up in the 4x400m mixed relay on Friday (15) on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

She will have a chance to add to a world championship medal count that already stands at a record 17, including 12 gold.

“I think it’s going to be really emotional,” Felix said at a US team press conference on the eve of the championships in Eugene. “I don’t quite know what to expect. I’ll just take it all in. It’s the last one for me. I’m going to leave it all out there.”

It has been nearly two decades since Felix won her first major medal, taking silver in the 200m at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games at the age of 18. Since then, she has established herself as one of the greatest track athletes of all time, and most recently as a respected advocate for female athletes.

It’s only more poignant that Felix is making her global farewell at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, the first time the World Championships has been held on US soil.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” she said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs. I love the sport so much. It broke my heart so many times but there have also been so many joyous moments. It’s a complete full circle to end at home. It’s going to be very special. I’m going to miss it, but I can’t think of a better way to go out with a heart full of gratitude.”

In her final Olympics last year in Tokyo, Felix won bronze in the women’s 400m and gold in the women’s 4x400m. That took her Olympic tally to 11 medals, including seven gold, surpassing Carl Lewis’ US record of 10 medals.

Felix failed to qualify in the 400m for these championships, finishing sixth at the US trials. But she stands an excellent chance in the mixed relay, an event in which USA teams are reigning world and Olympic champions.

“The biggest thing I can bring is experience, having been on all sorts of relays,” Felix said. “I’m excited to be in the mixed. It’s a young group.”

The mixed relay made its debut at the Doha World Championships in 2019, where Felix ran the second leg on a US team that won the gold in a world record of 3:09.34. That gave Felix 12 golds, surpassing Usain Bolt’s record of 11.

Doha also marked Felix’s first World Championships as a mother. In late 2018, she gave birth to her daughter, Camryn, via an emergency procedure that threatened the life of both mother and child.

Since then, she split with long time sponsor Nike after publicly criticising the sportswear giant for cutting her pay after she became pregnant. She has been an outspoken advocate for maternal health for Black women and recently launched an initiative to provide free childcare to athletes, coaches and staff.

“It’s been really hard the past three years,” she said. “They have been the most challenging when I reflect on these years. I can’t believe I made it through. It’s really rewarding to finally get to this point and fight through all that adversity.”

Felix said she hopes her legacy will reflect her achievements both on and off the track.

“I hope that I’ll be remembered as a fierce competitor,” she said. “Most importantly, I’m trying to leave the sport better than I found it, trying to support female athletes and women in general and fight for more equality.”

Fellow US athletes lauded Felix as a role model for their own careers.

Reigning men’s world 200m champion Noah Lyles recalled watching her win the half lap event at the 2012 London Olympics.

“I remember she ran 21 seconds, and at the time my personal best was 22 seconds, and it was like, 'dang, this woman's faster than me!'” he said.

But Lyles added that he was just as impressed with Felix’s stance on social issues.

“For one Black woman to speak their mind and speak for what they believe is right, even have the courage to try, is something I feel young people should be watching for years to come,” he said.

Anna Hall, the 21-year-old US and NCAA heptathlon champion, said she once had a poster of Felix on her bedroom wall and fondly remembered the champion posing for a photo with her sister at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

“She set a great example for American girls to follow,” Hall said.

After hearing all the tributes, Felix chimed in: “You guys are going to have me cry up here. You guys are the future. It means so much that I would have even a small impact on you.”

US men talk up possible 4x100m world record

The US men have a history of dropping the baton at major championships in the 4x100m relay. This time, they are promising to bring home the gold – and possibly a world record.

The US team shapes up as the favourite, with a contingent featuring three of the world’s five fastest men in 2022. The list includes US champion Fred Kerley (9.76), Trayvon Bromell (9.81), Marvin Bracy (9.85) and Elijah Hall (9.90).

The US team was eliminated in the semifinals in Tokyo last year after a sloppy exchange. Since taking gold at the 2000 Sydney Games, the US has been disqualified, failed to finish or failed to advance to the final at 10 of 15 global championships.

Lyles said the relay team is in peak form after training together over a few days last week.

“The handoffs were good,” he said. “We were very comfortable with each other.”

Then he issued a guarantee of sorts: “When I’m on the relay, we ain’t losing, point blank. And we might break the world record, just saying.”

The world record of 36.84 was set by the Jamaican team at the 2012 London Olympics.

Like Lyles, Kerley promised something to remember.

“We’ve just got to get the stick around,” he said, “and once we do that, it’s show time.”

Steve Wilson for World Athletics