By Signal Staff
Allyson Felix made Olympic history on Friday, winning her 10th medal to put her in a tie with Carl Lewis as the all-time most decorated U.S. track Olympian, and the most decorated female track athlete in the history of the Games.
Felix’s historic bronze medal came in the women’s 400-meter final of the Tokyo Olympics, posting a personal season-best time of 49.46 seconds. Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas won gold in 48.36 seconds and Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic took silver in 49.2 seconds, about a quarter-second ahead of Felix.
“This one is extra special. This medal means so much,” Felix, 35, told NBC after the race. “I knew that I still wanted to go and I had more to give, even though I was told that was it for me…For my last (individual) run, I just wanted to go with it and give myself a shot.”
According to Tim Layden, at-large sportswriter for NBC, Felix’s 49.46 was the fastest she had run the 400 meters since 2015 — three years before she gave birth to her daughter Camryn. Felix, who grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley and attended L.A. Baptist High School, won her first Olympic medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004, when she was still a teenager.
The congratulations poured in for Felix across social media.
“Congratulations @allysonfelix,” read a tweet from Lewis, the U.S. track legend whose record Felix tied. “Thirty-five never looked so good. What an amazing career and inspiration.
“Now on to the relay,” Lewis’ tweet said, referring to the women’s 4×400 relay final, in which Felix is expected to compete on Saturday. The 4×400 is scheduled 9:30 p.m. Tokyo time, 5:30 a.m. Pacific.
You can see Felix’s historic bronze medal run here. https://youtu.be/z2LLymvFV-I
