Allyson Felix went off with a bang, and a gold medal around her neck.
Saturday, July 7, marked the end of one of the greatest athletic careers ever, when Felix won a record 11th Olympic medal in the women’s 4x400m relay to assist the United States win their seventh consecutive title.
Women 4x400m Relay Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Together with Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, and Athing Mu, Felix formed a “dream squad” that annihilated the competition at the Tokyo Olympics. “I just came out really at peace, and wanting to soak it all in,” she said.
With a time of 3:16.85, the Americans won by more than four seconds and continued the United States’ lengthy domination in the event, which dates back to the 1996 Atlanta Games.
At age 35, Felix had just finished her fifth and final Olympics and her first as a mother. “I think all of us in the team had achieved a lot in the individual races and I wanted to be able to run alongside these women and to win gold with them,” she said.
Polish athletes Set a New National Record in the 4x400m Relay
Polish athletes set a new national record in the 4x400m relay, which they combined with their gold to win the event and take home silver. The Jamaican team finished in third place with a time of 3 minutes, 21 seconds, earning a medal in the event for the sixth consecutive Olympics.
Canada placed fourth in a time of 3:21.84, just 0.63 seconds off their 1984 national record.
On the heels of her bronze medal performance in the women’s 400-meter dash, Felix eclipsed Carl Lewis as the most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history.
Last Words
Just one gold short of the record set by Finnish distance great Paavo Nurmi, Felix closes her Olympic career with an impressive 11 victories. A seventh gold medal joined her three silvers and one bronze in her collection.
“We’re not 400m runners, so this is a truly special team,” Felix remarked. Not the 400-meter dash is where I excel. We’re all specialists in our own fields, and it was great to work together to wrap up the Olympic Games and, in my case, my Olympic career.
