When the one-year postponement of the Tokyo Olympics was announced in March, questions were raised about whether every athlete who had been aiming to compete at the Olympics in 2020 would be just as motivated to keep going until 2021.
On Wednesday, Allyson Felix, a four-time Olympian and the most decorated woman in U.S. Olympic track & field history, left no doubt about her Olympic goals.
“I am still super excited about this push for the fifth team,” Felix told Mike Tirico during Wednesday’s episode of “Lunch Talk Live” on NBCSN. “I feel more like myself than I have since I had my daughter [in November 2018]… I’m still training extremely hard and still building to be my best when it comes time for Olympic Trials.”
Felix also spoke about the team around her and the motivation they’ve given her these past few months. “The people around me really helped me build that confidence to keep going,” Felix told Tirico. “It’s actually another year to get stronger, and to build, and just to be even more prepared.”
The six-time Olympic gold medalist also shared her initial reaction to the postponement announcement, as well as the perspective she has taken in recent weeks. “I think knowing that the entire world was also facing adversity and such a loss of life and loss of jobs, you feel like you’re in it with everyone else,” she said. “I know that when this [the Olympics] does happen, I think sports will really be a time of healing for a lot of people.”
Later this week, Felix will also be featured in “On Her Turf: Inspiring Greatness,” a show celebrating women in sports (Sunday, 8pm ET, NBCSN).
