Biography of Allyson Felix

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After making a splash in her first appearance at the Games, Allyson Felix will chase more Olympic glory in Beijing in 2008. The darling of the U.S. track team in Athens, Felix is now one of its leaders. She followed up her silver-medal winning performance in Athens with world titles in 2005 and 2007, to go with her four 200m national titles ('04, '05, '07, '08).

Beijing bound
Felix qualified for Beijing with a hard-earned victory in the 200m at the Olympic Trials in Eugene. The world's dominant 200m runner, Felix was a heavy favorite to win her specialty event entering the Trials, even though she had yet to run a 200m in 2008. But coming off the curve in the final, it was 100m champion Muna Lee, running in lane 6 to Felix's lane 5, who held the lead. A composed Felix pulled even with Lee, then kept pushing to win in 21.82 seconds.

No four-play
After she opened the year with a smoking-fast  performance in Qatar, where she clocked times of 10.93 in the 100m and 49.83 in the 400m over a 90-minute span, speculation was that Felix could possibly contend for four gold medals in Beijing. But a fifth-place finish in the 100m at the Olympic Trials knocked Felix out of one event at the Games. She could still go for three gold medals if she makes it on the U.S. 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Relay replay
Though the 200m was the only individual race Felix ran at the 2007 Worlds, she did become just the second female to win three gold medals at a world championships (Marita Koch of East Germany won three in 1983). And Felix did it over the span of three consecutive days. First was the gold in the 200m on Friday, then she ran second on the U.S. women's gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team on Saturday, and on Sunday she ran in the same position for the victorious 4x400m relay team. Felix's third gold came the day after compatriot Tyson Gay won his third gold medal (100m, 200m, 4x100m) in Osaka.

Ambitious schedule
In Athens, the 200m was Felix's only event. In Beijing, it could be one of four. In addition to her specialty event, Felix would like to be a part of both U.S. women's relay teams (4x100m, 4x400m) and either the 100m or 400m. Her personal-best times in the 100m (11.01), 200m (21.81) and 400m (50.40) all have come in 2007. She's coached by Bob Kersee, the husband and trainer of six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Track's fresh face
Felix burst onto the scene as America's teenage sprint prodigy in 2003, when she turned pro after her high school graduation. That year, as a 17-year-old, she finished third at Nationals and qualified for the World Championships, where she was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Felix earned her first Olympic berth by winning the 200m at U.S. Trials; her time of 22.28 seconds was the second-fastest in the world at the time. In Athens, she won a silver medal in 22.18, a World Junior record.

No testing, no record
At the Mt. Sac Relays on April 19, 2003, Felix ran a 22.51 in the 200m, breaking Marion Jones' 11-year-old American junior and high school record of 22.58 seconds. Two weeks later, Felix ran a remarkable 22.11 at the Banamex Grand Prix in Mexico City. That time was faster than the junior world record of 22.19 seconds set by Russian Natalya Bochina in 1980, but since the meet did not conduct drug testing, the IAAF did not accept Felix's record. The time was, however, recognized as a U.S. junior record.

USC student, not athlete
Raised by a father, Paul, who is an ordained minister and a mother, Marlean, who's an elementary school teacher, Felix was always taught the importance of education -- which is why she attended the University of Southern California despite turning professional immediately after high school (rendering her ineligible for NCAA competition). She is one semester shy of an education degree, which she'd one day like to use to teach fourth and fifth graders. Her older brother Wes, was a USC sprinter and the 2002 U.S. junior champion in the 200m. According to Sports Illustrated, Paul ran the 100m in 9.9 seconds on a dirt track when he was in high school.

Felix the Chicken?
Felix got the nickname "Chicken Legs" from her high school teammates because of her long, skinny legs. However, she has reportedly leg-pressed 700 pounds on a weight machine. Felix, who missed her senior prom for a competition, trained on the same high school track as three-time Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers.