Allyson Felix Becomes First Female Track &Field Athlete To Win 10 Olympics Medals

Allyson Felix Olympics: The 10-time Olympic medallist made a historic comeback on August 6 by bagging the bronze in the women's 400 meters, running a season-best 49.46 seconds. After winning the bronze, she became the first female track and field athlete with 10 Olympic medals.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas bagged the gold in the same by performing her lifetime best 48.36 seconds while Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic bagged the silver and her clocking of 49.20 seconds was also her lifetime best.

The 35-year-old Californian athlete, Felix, won bronze in the women's 400 meters on Friday. Owing to her historic comeback and victory, Felix became the most decorated male or female Olympic track and field athlete in history with 18 career medals.

Felix's 10th medal broke the tie with Jamaica's Merlene Ottey, who is the receiver of nine Olympic medals.

Felix also holds a tie for the most number of medals by an American track and field athlete with Carl Lewis.

The world record holder for the rarely contested 150 meters distance, running 16.36 secs, qualified for her fifth Olympics in June, having finished second in the event at the U.S. Trials. She clocked 49.89 seconds at her first sub-50 run in the semifinal since she became a mother in 2018.

Felix holds the credit of setting a world junior record over 200 meters after receiving her first silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens at the age of 18 with her time of 22.18.

Felix won the title of youngest gold medallist sprinter in the 200 meters at the World Championships in Helsinki in the year 2005.

After defending her title at Osaka in the year 2007, Felix had said, "My next goal is not the world record, but gold in Beijing. I want to take it to step by step. I might consider doing both – the 200 and the 400 meters – there."

Felix is also the only second female athlete to win three gold medals at a single IAAF World Championships in Athletics, after Marita Koch in 1983.

Read: Allyson Felix’s Tokyo Olympic Journey Is Much More Than Getting To The Finish Line