Allyson Felix will race the 200m and the 400m at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in July regardless of if the Olympic schedule is changed to make the 200m-400m double more feasible in Rio, her coach said, according to Reuters.
“The Olympic trials schedule is fine, and I am working with USA Track & Field (USATF) on the Olympic schedule,” coach Bob Kersee said, according to the report. “Adjusting the schedule in my opinion does not hurt anybody.”
At the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., the women’s 400m final is July 3. The women’s 200m begins July 8.
At the Olympics, the women’s 400m final and the 200m first round are in the same evening session, about an hour apart, which has kept Felix from committing to both. Felix is the Olympic 200m champion and World 400m champion.
But Felix and Kersee hope the Olympic schedule will be changed, as it was for Michael Johnson in 1996.
USATF and the IAAF, track and field’s international governing body, have talked about a possible schedule change and a formal request will be filed, a spokeswoman said, according to the report.
A little history on the situation:
In July, Felix said that Kersee would be “voicing his opinion” by “talking to whoever he needs to talk to” hoping to change the Rio Olympic track and field schedule.
In October, Felix she would let Kersee “take control of the entire situation and see what happens.”
“I guess I wouldn’t say I’m confident because I have no idea really,” Felix said of a potential schedule change in October. “I feel like it could definitely go either way. I think I’m more just hoping for the opportunity.”
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said before the World Championships in August that the Rio track and field schedule could be changed under “a special case.”
If the Olympic schedule remains as is, would Felix still consider trying to race both the 200m and 400m?
“Right now I don’t see why I would do them both,” Felix said in October. “I feel like if the schedule’s not going to change, I would take time to focus on one or the other, but that’s something I’d have to think about.
“The 200’s my favorite, clearly, but that’s not to say that I wouldn’t run the 400. I haven’t ruled anything out if the schedule’s not changed.”
MORE TRACK AND FIELD: Michael Johnson urges Felix to double in Rio
