INDIANAPOLIS – Allyson Felix has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week following her performance at the London Olympic Games that saw her become the first woman since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games and helped to set a world record in the process.
Felix grabbed the allusive gold medal in the 200m (21.88) and also ran legs on the 4x400m (3:16.88), which recorded the fifth fastest time in history, and the world-record setting 4x100m (40.82). After a pair of Olympic silver medals in the 200m in 2004 and 2008, Felix grabbed her first individual Olympic gold medal. To go along with her three World Outdoor Championships gold medals, at age 26, Felix now has a total of seven Olympic and World Championships medals in the event.
“It is unbelievable,” Felix said following competition in London. “I think about how I ended in Beijing and kind of feeling discouraged there. Now four years later to have all of this happen and to really accomplish every goal that I set out is just such a blessing. London is very special to me.”
The three gold medals for Felix were part of a brilliant performance from Team USA where it won a total of 29 medals throughout track and field competition, which was the most since the boycotted 1992 Barcelona Games. The total of 14 women’s medals is the most since the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Now in its 11th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on www.usatf.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2012 Winners: January 5, Landon Peacock; January 11, Kirubel Erassa; January 18, Shalane Flanagan; January 26, John Nunn; February 1, Gunnar Nixon; February 8, Jenn Suhr; February 14, Jillian-Camarena Williams; February 22, Brycen Spratling; February 28, Chaunte Lowe; March 7, Eric Broadbent; March 14, Ashton Eaton; March 21, Jeanne Daprano; March 27, Wallace Spearmon; April 3, Trevor Barron; April 9, Kevin Castille; April 18, Brittney Reese; April 25, Amy Sproston; May 2, Leo Manzano; May 9, Stephanie Brown-Trafton; May 16, Allyson Felix; May 23, Nick Hartle; May 30, Kimberlyn Duncan; June 6, Jessica Cosby and Meghan Vogel; June 13, Jesse Williams; June 20, Shelby Ashe; June 27, Ashton Eaton; July 4, Allyson Felix; July 12, Christian Cantwell; July 18, Gunnar Nixon; July 25 Evan Jager; August 1, Denzel Harper; August 15, Allyson Felix
