Allyson Felix announces comeback: Inside the 11-time Olympic medallist’s battles on and off the track

Allyson Felix, the most decorated American in Olympic track and field history, is set to make a comeback at the Olympic Games LA28. The eleven-time Olympic athletics medallist announced last month that she is coming out of retirement. The American sprinter said she is driven by a simple question: “What is still humanly possible?”“I’m not here trying to relive who I was. This is something different. A question that keeps pulling me in. What is still humanly possible?” she said in an interview on NBC’s Today show. Her new target is the U.S. mixed 4x400m relay pool.Also a mum, Felix’s new goal is much more personal. “I just kept feeling this question coming to me. I wanted to show my kids what it looks like to go after something. And it may not work out, but it’s really the courage to try that I want to demonstrate for them,” she said.As the most decorated US track and field athlete of all time prepares to return, let’s take a look back at her incredible journey and battles on and off the track.Allyson Felix was born on November 18, 1985, in Los Angeles. Her father, Paul Felix, was an ordained minister, while her mother, Marlean, worked as an elementary school teacher. She has an elder brother, Wes, also a sprinter specialising in the 100m and 200m at the national level. Felix joined her school track team at 13 and quickly grabbed the spotlight at the regional and national levels.Allyson Felix has often spoken about how her Christian faith has been the cornerstone of both her life and career. “My faith has always been the foundation, and it’s the reason that I ran. I felt like I was blessed with this gift, and I always wanted to use it to the best of my ability,” she told The Guardian. She grew up with strong spiritual values, which have helped her navigate the most challenging moments in her life, including Olympic glory and a life-threatening condition during childbirth. She turned to faith during the brightest and darkest hours of her life.Felix stepped onto the global stage at a remarkably young age. In 2004, at just 18, she competed at the Athens Olympics in the 200m sprint. “I was just there to compete,” she told the publication. But she didn’t ‘just compete’. She brought home a silver medal. Later, in 2007, she defeated Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, the same athlete who had beaten her in Athens, by completing the 200m in under 22 seconds for the first time at the World Championships in Osaka. Over the years, she rose to dominance. She competed in five Olympic Games from 2004 to 2020, winning a record 11 Olympic medals across multiple sprint events, including the 200m and 400m. Beyond the Olympics, she also ruled the World Athletics Championships, winning 20 medals and securing her place as one of the greatest sprinters of all time.In 2018, Felix married her partner, the sprinter and hurdler Kenneth Ferguson. They were planning to start a family together. And that’s when Felix faced a decision many female athletes know too well: can you pursue motherhood without sacrificing your career? Motherhood is often seen as the end of the road for female athletes. “It was kind of an unspoken thing among Olympic athletes, especially in track and field, that if you’re going to have a baby or get married or anything major, it needs to happen in what is known as an ‘off’ year – when there are no imminent competitions. That’s seen as your opportunity,” she told the publication. She also faced the unspoken rule of sponsorship income from big brands being slashed. Felix always felt that, if she ‘accomplished enough’, that wouldn’t be her experience. But the brands proved her wrong.The athlete did something the giant sponsors never anticipated. She publicly revealed how sponsors drastically reduced her pay when she became pregnant, despite being one of the world’s most decorated athletes. She demanded change. Adding to the pressure, she also faced a health setback. During a routine check-up at 32 weeks, she was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that causes dangerously high blood pressure levels and organ damage. She was immediately hospitalised. The following day, doctors performed an emergency C-section. Her daughter, Camryn, was born two months early.“All my life, I’ve taken care of my body; my body has been my tool, and it has never really failed me. I’ve trained, and I’ve put demands on my body, and it’s always performed. [So] I was thinking [of having] a beautiful natural birth. I’d gone to hypnobirthing and all these things,” she told the BBC.After Tokyo 2020, Felix announced her retirement. She left on her own terms at age 35, ranked among the world’s fastest women. She stands as an inspiration and a symbol of courage and determination to millions of women across the globe. The woman who proved you can have your cake and eat it too. And as Allyson Felix prepares to return to the track, all eyes are on her.