Allyson Felix, at a professed far from her best, finished fourth in her 400m first-round heat at the USATF Outdoor Championships, her first race in more than one year and since having daughter Camryn via emergency C-section at 32 weeks on Nov. 28.
Felix, the most decorated female Olympic track and field athlete with nine medals and six golds, clocked 52.20 seconds. She reached Friday’s semifinals with the 11th-fastest time of 16 qualifiers. Her personal best is 49.26 from 2015.
“It felt rusty. Kind of to be expected,” Felix, who ran unsponsored but in Nike shoes, told media in Des Moines. “It’s not quite up to my standards.
“Even though it wasn’t a great result for me, it’s a starting point. My biggest goal is next year. I know that I’m capable. Now I have time on my side. I can get where I need to go.”
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Before the race, Felix posted on Instagram that making it to the start line was “a huge victory.”
“Almost 8 months ago this was my entire world. staying in the NICU all day & night watching my baby girl fight,” she wrote. “I can still hear the beeping and alarms of the machines. the uncertainty. The fear. There were a lot of days i wasn’t sure this was going to be possible. I worked harder than i even knew i could. there were tears, frustration and doubt. At times it felt like everything was against me.”
Felix must likely finish in the top six in Saturday’s 400m final, should she advance from Friday’s semifinals, to make her ninth straight world championships team. That should get her on the 4x400m relay. A top-three finish is required to make the individual 400m at worlds in Doha in two months.
Later Thursday, Molly Huddle captured her fifth straight 10,000m national title by holding off training partner Emily Sisson. In the men’s 10,000m, 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony flag bearer Lopez Lomong won by more than 17 seconds.
Others winners included Sam Mattis (discus), Ariana Ince (javelin) — edging American record-holder Kara Winger — and Keturah Orji, who captured her fourth straight triple jump crown.
Earlier Thursday, the favorites advanced in the men’s and women’s 100m, which have semifinals and finals Friday. That includes Christian Coleman, the world’s fastest man this Olympic cycle, Justin Gatlin, who has a bye into worlds as defending champion and defending U.S. champion Aleia Hobbs.
Same went for the women’s 800m (Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers) and 1500m (Jenny Simpson, Shelby Houlihan) and men’s 400m hurdles (Rai Benjamin, Kerron Clement) and 800m (Donavan Brazier, Clayton Murphy).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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