Odyssey to Oregon

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON

Felix comes up short against Veronica Campbell-Brown when the Jamaican wins the Olympic 200-meter title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I love running against Veronica,” Allyson has said, “I love high quality races, and I wish we could meet more. “Sometimes it’s just the way that it works out.”

half‐lap at Prefontaine by clocking 22.23 seconds, well ahead of Jamaica’s Anneisha McLaughlin, who managed 23.00 flat. For her stellar work in 2012, she was named IAAF Athlete of the Year. Allyson’s return to the 100 meters at Hayward Field in 2013 was rather inauspicious. With Jamaicans Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐ Pryce (10.71), Veronica Campbell‐ Brown (10.78) and Kerron Stewart (10.97) scorching three of the top four spots, she could only manage seventh in 11.07, fast enough to win many a global final, but pedestrian in this company. The tables turned somewhat in 2014, when the American was third behind Tori Bowie and Okagbare – with Fraser‐Price far down the strip in eighth. Three Jamaicans took Allyson on

in 2015 over 400 meters, where Felix won in 50.05 to eclipse not just perennial world number‐ one Sanya Richards‐Ross, but also Stephenie‐Ann McPherson (3rd, 50.40) Novlene Williams‐ Mills (6th, 51.89) and Christine Day (8th, 52.29). In 2016, though Elaine Thompson had covered Felix in the 200 meters (5th, 22.33), the Jamaican had to settle for third behind two special sub‐22‐second runs: the USA’s Tori Bowie’s meet‐record 21.77 and a 21.91 by Bahamian Shaunae Miller‐Uibo for second place. Jamaican track fans are sure to miss the fast, elegant American who battled the island’s women over almost 20 years. She also challenged the sports industrial complex and their policy of defunding female athletes who were sidelined by childbirth.

After highly publicized advocacy and testimony in Congress, she won, changing the future of every woman in professional sports. “I feel like track has really led me to that purpose,” she commented on her odyssey. “So just because I’m finishing my career on the track, it’s not finishing (those battles). I’m going to push for equality on all fronts.” After losing to Jamaica for the first time in the final of the 4×400‐meter relay at the 2015 IAAF World Championship tournament in Beijing, Felix made it clear that “the rivalry with Jamaica is a highlight … expect the next time to be another great showdown.” If there’s no next time, walk good Allyson.