Allyson Felix of the U.S. sprints out of the starting blocks in her women’s 400 metres heats at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu in this August 27, 2011 file photo. Felix, the shining star of the U.S. women’s track and field is still without an individual gold at an Olympics, winning silver in the 200m at Athens and Beijing. DAVID GRAY/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive230748
Allyson Felix took gold with her team in the 4×400-meter race in Beijing 2008. She has also taken silver twice in the 200-meter sprint, which is what she primarily competes in. She appeared in Athens as well, and is trying for a London 2012 spot. But there’s just one problem, and it comes in the form of Jeneba Tarmoh.
Felix usually races in the 100m, 200m, and 400m events. In 2009 she became the first woman to ever win three world 200-meter titles. Winning her first medal at just eighteen, she hopes to be able to compete for one more at 26. And this girl is dang strong! She is able to leg-press 700 pounds and dead lifted 245 pounds, which is almost twice her weight.
Allyson Felix competes in the women’s 100 meter qualifying at the U.S. Olympic athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon, June 22, 2012. LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive324014
Growing up in LA, Felix comes from a very religious family. Her dad Paul is an ordained minister in Sun Valley, California, and her mother is an elementary school teacher. Felix went to a Baptist high school where she didn’t discover her talent for running until 9th grade. She graduated from USC with a degree in elementary education.
Sprinter Allyson Felix poses for a portrait during the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in Dallas, Texas May 13, 2012. After winning a silver in the 400 at last year’s world championships and winning the 100 in Doha, Felix, 26, suddenly has a lot of options, including the two relays. She is still looking for her first individual Olympic gold after finishing with silver in the 200 at the last two Games and thinks London could be her best chance. LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive238367
Saturday (June 23) Felix and Tarmoh raced in the 100 m dash during the Olympics trials for Track and Field to try and qualify for one of the three spots on the Olympic team. The race finish is documented by two cameras that take thousands of pictures, and what all of those pictures revealed was that for the first time in track and field history, there was a tie. Tarmoh was at first said to have won by .0001, but that was later retracted and said the two tied. They tied! Because this had never happened before, track officials had to come up with a tie-breaking solution. USATF officials are getting quite a bit of slack for not having some type of tie-breaking method in place before, but really, who would have ever thought that two people could exactly tie? It is yet to be decided if the final spot on the Olympic team for the 100m dash will be determined by a coin toss or another run-off. The decision will most likely come after the two compete in the 200m dash on Saturday.
Felix is trying for her third Olympics, Tarmoh for her first. Check out more pictures of Felix back at Newscom.
Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh (front) hit the finish line at the same time during the women’s 100 meter race at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene Oregon June 24, 2012 in this handout photo. Both athletes finished tied for third place with a time of 11.068 seconds. The toss of a coin or a head-to-head sprint could decide which athlete represents the United States in the women’s 100 meters at the London Olympics. HANDOUT/Reuters/Newscom. Find it on Newcom.com: rtrlfive328404
The awkward thing is both of them are coached by Bobby Kersee and have trained together quite a lot. Kersee has said “ Would you go to the Super Bowl and after two overtimes or what have you, have the referees take both coaches to the middle of the field and say, ‘We’re going to flip to see who wins the Super Bowl?’ I don’t see that.” He has also declared that he won’t be present at the race, if there is a runoff, he’ll instead go on a long walk.
Carmelita Jeter (C) and Allyson Felix (L) compete in the women’s 100 metres semi-final at the U.S. Olympic athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon June 23, 2012. STEVE DIPAOLA/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive325750
Runner Allyson Felix crosses the finish line during the qualifying round of the women’s 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon June 22, 2012. ROBERT GALBRAITH/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive323955
Allyson Felix of the U.S. celebrates her victory in the women’s 200m at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League track meet in Eugene, Oregon June 2, 2012. STEVEN GIBBONS/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive279883
You may be interested in some of these other posts from FocalPoint:
Tags: 100 meter, 100m dash, 200m, allyson felix, london 2012, Olympics