US track and field great Allyson Felix confirmed Wednesday she will retire this year, bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned three decades and included a record-setting 11 Olympic medals. The 36-year-old said in an Instagram post she planned to embark on her farewell season as a ges-ture of gratitude to the sport.
“I have given everything I have to running and for the first time I’m not sure if I have anything left to give,” Felix said. “I want to say goodbye and thank you to the sport and people who have helped shape me the only way I know how – with one last run,” she added. “This season isn’t about the time on the clock, it’s simply about joy. “If you see me on the track this year I hope to share a moment, a memory and my appreciation with you.”
Felix did not give details of her competitive schedule, but it is likely she is tar-geting this year’s World Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon in July. Felix is the most decorated woman in the history of Olympic track and field, winning the first of her 11 medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the last at last year’s Tokyo Games, a gold in the 4x400m relay.—APP
