Allyson Felix, the current World Championships in Athletics 200 meter champion, was born November 18, 1985 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of an ordained minister and professor of New Testament at The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, California. Allyson herself is a devout Christian and sees her running ability as a gift from God, "My faith is the reason I run - it calms my heart and makes everything feel like a lift. My speed is definitely a gift from Him, and I run for His glory. Whatever I do, He allows me to do it."
Felix attended Los Angeles Baptist High School in the San Fernando Valley where she was nicknamed "Chicken Legs" by her teammates; the majority of the five-foot-six, 125-pound sprinter's body is a skinny bottom half. But her slightness belies her strength and speed - she can dead-lift 360 pounds and power-clean 150 pounds. Allyson didn't discover her gift until she tried out for track in the ninth grade. Just 10 weeks after that first tryout, she finished seventh in the 200 at the state championships; in the coming seasons, she became a five-time California high school state champ. As a senior, Felix finished second in the 200 at the USA 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. In 2003, at age 17, she ran the 200-meter in 22.51 seconds to break Marion Jones’ 11-year-old record.
Felix graduated from high school in 2003, making headlines by foregoing college eligibility to sign a professional contract with Adidas. Adidas paid her an undisclosed sum and picked up her college tuition at USC, where she majored in elementary education.
Felix has also shown that she can overcome adversity. During her junior year of high school, she pulled a hamstring at the state championships and re-injured it a few weeks later at the U.S. Junior National Championships. By the time she made it to the World Juniors in Jamaica, she had lost her edge and ended up in fifth place. News articles said Felix had choked, but she kept her head up. "That was an extremely hard time," she said. "I had to depend on God."
At just 18 Felix finished as silver medalist in the 200 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics, behind Veronica Campbell of Jamaica; in doing so set a World Junior record with her time of 22.18. She became the youngest ever gold medalist sprinter in the 200 meters at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 2005 and then defended her title at Osaka, Japan two years later. At Osaka Felix caught Jamaican Veronica Campbell on the bend and surged down the straight to finish in 21.81 seconds, lowering her own season-leading time by a massive 0.37 seconds. Does that sound like a choke? After the final she stated that "I feel so good, I am so excited. I have been waiting for so long to run such a time, to run under 22 seconds. And as for the future "My next goal is not the world record, but gold in Beijing. I might consider doing both -- the 200 and the 400 meters -- there." She also has plans for the 100m. "I like the 100m but it didn't quite come together this year. I haven't reached my potential because I have problems with my start. But I haven't given up on it. I'm still excited to work on it." In 2007 she became only the second female athlete to win three gold medals at a single World Championships in Athletics. What’s next: Perhaps a gold medal (or two) at this year’s Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Felix is coached by the legendary Bobby Kersee - husband & coach of Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
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