A 200-400 sprint double at Olympics could be waiting Felix

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — If Allyson Felix feels tired now, just wait until next year.

The American sprinter would like to have the opportunity to run the 200 and 400 meters at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Trouble is, the schedule right now really doesn’t allow for it. Not enough recovery time.

Given that she’s one of track’s biggest names, the International Olympic Committee said it will at least consider revising the program. Felix finished with gold in the 400 meters at the world championships in Beijing, along with silvers in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.

Although exhausted, she had plenty more left, too. Enough to commit to two individual sprint events in Brazil? If it is made possible, of course.

“My job is to be fit enough to try and just try to make the team (in both sprint events),” Felix said Sunday after the conclusion of the championships. “It’s a hard team to make. That’s my goal, to be in a position to do that.”

Keep up that training, Allyson, because the IAAF would be happy to investigate such a schedule change.

“When we have extraordinarily talented athletes, being able to get them into a program where they’re able to be seen as often as possible is ideal,” said Sebastian Coe, who was recently elected president of IAAF. “Where it is possible we should always look to try and help that.”

The change is not without precedent. American sprint great Michael Johnson campaigned for a rearrangement of the 200 and 400 events before the 1996 Atlanta Games. He got his wish and became the first male to win both at the Olympics.

Felix is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200, and she certainly showed her versatility by capturing the 400 at the worlds. Had the schedule been more flexible, Felix would have gone for the double this week, just like she did at the worlds in 2011 when she finished third in the 200 and second in the 400.

In Beijing, there was only 65 minutes in between the 200-meter semifinals and the 400 final. That’s asking too much, even of Felix.

Give her a little more recovery time in Rio and four medals could be possible.

“We go through a lot of practice,” Felix said. “So when I come out here and we have rounds, this is a lot easier than a work week (at practice).”

With gold in the 400, Felix now has nine world titles, which only trails that sprinter named Usain Bolt and his 11.

She had a chance to add to that in the 4×100, but Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce led Jamaica to the crown. Another shot in the 4×400, too, with Felix running the third leg instead of the anchor. She handed the baton off to Francena McCorory, who couldn’t hold off Novlene Williams-Mills.

“It was a hard-fought race,” Felix said. “We just didn’t have it tonight.”

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