The Rio 2016 Olympic track and field schedule could be changed under “a special case,” IOC president Thomas Bach said Friday, which could aid Allyson Felix if she wants to run the 200m and 400m next year.
“The Olympic program has been defined in principle, but if we have a special case where we can help an athlete, we would still be ready to discuss,” Bach said on the eve of the World Track and Field Championships in Beijing, according to The Associated Press. “It would have repercussions on others. Have to see if it would be possible or not. I can’t tell you what the outcome of such a discussion would be.”
Felix, 29 and a six-time Olympic medalist, ruled out running both the 200m and the 400m at Worlds because the 200m semifinals and 400m final are a little over an hour apart.
The current Olympic track and field schedule is a little more forgiving, with the 200m first round and the 400m final about 75 minutes apart.
“I would love to have the opportunity to have the choice to be able do it,” Felix said, according to the AP. “I guess it’s something we have to see.”
Felix hasn’t committed to any events in 2016 yet but has said her coach would be “voicing his opinion” about the Olympic schedule, which was altered for Michael Johnson to attempt the 200m-400m double at Atlanta 1996.
