Allyson Felix

Allyson Felix was born November 18, 1985 in Los Angeles. She joined the track team at Los Angeles Baptist High School as a freshman, was nicknamed “Chicken Legs” by teammates for her slender frame, and by her sophomore year had won her first California state title in the 100 meters. She set a world U20 record in the 200m as a senior and turned professional out of high school, signing with adidas in 2003.

Her Olympic career spans Athens 2004 through Tokyo 2020 — five consecutive Games. She specialized in the 200m for the first decade, winning Olympic gold in London 2012 (her only individual Olympic gold), then shifted gradually to the 400m. The relay golds piled up across both events: four consecutive 4×400m gold medals (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), two 4×100m golds (2012, 2016), with the 2012 relay setting a still-standing American record of 40.82. By the end of Tokyo she had 11 Olympic medals — surpassing Carl Lewis as the most decorated American track and field Olympian of all time.

In 2018 she gave birth to her daughter Camryn via emergency C-section after a life-threatening preeclampsia diagnosis. Eight months later she was back competing. The same year she challenged Nike publicly over the company’s refusal to guarantee salary protections for pregnant athletes, an op-ed and Congressional testimony that — alongside parallel pressure from Alysia Montaño and Kara Goucher — led Nike to expand its maternity policy in 2019. She left Nike, and in 2021 founded Saysh, a footwear brand designed specifically for women athletes. At Tokyo 2020 she became the first track athlete in history to win Olympic medals while wearing her own racing spikes.

She announced retirement in 2022 at the World Championships in Eugene, where she added her 20th career medal — the most by any athlete, male or female, in World Championships history. In April 2026 she announced a comeback for LA 2028, hoping to compete one more time on home soil. She has spent the four years between retirements on the IOC Athletes’ Commission, the USOPC Board, and as commencement speaker for her alma mater USC, which awarded her an honorary doctorate.