RUNNING FOR CHANGE

The most decorated female athlete in history Allyson Felix has called time on her glorious career.

Photos: EPA By: Amy Tennery

ALLYSON Felix heard the roar of a World Championships home crowd for the first and last time at the IAAF World Championships in Eugene, and while a bronze medal was not the way she wanted to end her track career she said it was more important to “embrace the journey.”

Felix and her 4 x 400m mixed relay teammates were left on the bottom step of the podium in Eugene, Oregon after being caught down the home stretch by the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands.

There were many empty seats at Hayward Field but the fans let 36-year-old Felix know they were behind her every step of the way when she took the baton one last time.

“It’s really cool to have it at home,” said Felix, who ran the second leg.

“It had always been something I was a little envious of when you have an athlete from the home crowd and you hear that roar.”

Felix won the first of her 11 Olympic medals as an 18-year-old at the 2004 Athens Games when she picked up a 200m silver.

She bookended her Olympic career by winning 400m bronze and 4 x 400m relay gold at Tokyo last year, becoming the most decorated woman in the history of the sport.

Asked what wisdom she had to offer to the next generation of athletes, Felix said: “Embrace the journey.”

“When you love something this much and you have difficult moments, it can break your heart,” she told reporters.

“Every defeat, every feeling of failure, its an opportunity to get better. And I wish that I really would have known that earlier.”

A final street race in Los Angeles is planned for August to close out her career.

“To hear from my fellow athletes and younger athletes – its been an emotional day and time period of just messages and I think its just something I never expected,” said Felix.

LEFT: Allyson Felix celebrates winning gold in the Women’s 4 x 400m Relay Final with Athing Mu, Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin of Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

“I’m so excited to know this sport is in such great hands.”

Felix, 36, returned to the track two years ago after life-threatening complications arising from the birth of her daughter Camryn, who spent her first month in intensive care.

“When you see me run, know that I’m not running for medals,” added Felix.

“I’m running for change. I’m running for greater equity for each of us. I’m running for women.

“More than anything, I’m running toward a future where no woman or girl is ever told to know her place.”

Allyson Felix in action in the 4x400m Mixed Relay at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.