Allyson Felix has secured a spot on the Olympic team by finishing second in the 400-meter final on Sunday at the Olympic trails for the Tokyo Olympics. Felix ran a time of 50.02 seconds to secure her spot.
Athens as a teenager. Tokyo as a mom. @allysonfelix qualifies for her fifth Olympic Games. Legend. #TrackFieldTrials21 pic.twitter.com/nSF4XuawuU
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) June 21, 2021
“Man, it has been a fight to get here,” said Felix during a postrace interview on NBC. “And one thing I know how to do is fight, so I just wanted to do that all the way home.”
Qualifying with Felix will be Quanera Hayes, who won the final with a time of 49.78, and Wadeline Jonathas came in third, finishing just behind Felix.
Becoming a Mother
Felix gave birth in November 2018 to her daughter Camryn; she had to have an emergency C-section. The track and field star had to overcome a tough pregnancy that could have cost her her life.
“I feel like everybody’s been on this journey with me. They’ve seen me overcome some pretty big battles,” Felix said Saturday. “There were moments I didn’t think that I’d be able to make it to this point, and I think that makes me all the more grateful to be here.”
Felix is driven by setting an example for her daughter, and she wants Camryn to see her compete in the Olympics. “I’ve always had a drive and a desire to win,” she said, “but I think now, being a mom, it’s really about teaching her how to overcome adversity and showing her what hard work looks like.”
After overcoming her pregnancy, Felix managed to get back on track in 2019. In 2019, Felix won two relay gold medals at the world championships in Doha.
Felix intends to retire before the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024. In her outstanding career, Felix has nine Olympic medals and 13 world titles. She will hopefully add more medals in Tokyo.
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