Allyson Felix Makes History After Medaling In Women's 400-Meter Dash

Say hello to the most decorated female track and field athlete in U.S. history.
Allyson Felix won a silver medal in the women's 400-meter dash on Monday night.
Allyson Felix won a silver medal in the women's 400-meter dash on Monday night.
Credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Allyson Felix clinched her seventh career Olympic medal on Monday evening after finishing second in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 49.51 seconds, an accomplishment that makes her the most decorated female track and field athlete in American history.

Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas won the race with a time of 49.44 after diving over the finish line, and Shericka Jackson of Jamaica won the bronze with 49.85.

Felix, in lane four, crosses the finish line just behind Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, who dove for the gold after a close race.
Felix, in lane four, crosses the finish line just behind Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, who dove for the gold after a close race.
Credit: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

Felix, competing in her fourth Olympics, was the reigning world champion in the 400-meter event in 2015, and had the fastest time in the world earlier this year at the U.S. Trials, despite her struggles with an ankle injury.

She now holds four Olympic gold medals and three silvers.

Felix, now 30, first competed in the Olympics as an 18-year-old in Athens, winning a silver medal in the 200-meter race. She repeated the accomplishment in Beijing, before winning gold in 2012’s London games.

Despite the trophy case, Felix failed to qualify in the 200 for Rio due to her ankle, dashing hopes that she could double at the Olympics. Felix told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday she felt “close to normal” ahead of the 400-meter prelims, but said it was “heartbreaking” not to be competing in her favorite race.

“My heart is filled with gratitude as I prepare to walk to the starting line in my 4th Olympics,” Felix wrote on Instagram a few days before the competition began. “It has been a year of adversity, but I have embraced the process.”

She’s likely to run in both the women’s 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays later this week. Should she medal in both events, she would tie Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s record for the most Olympic medals won by a female track and field athlete in history.

Felix hasn’t yet said if this will be her last Olympics.

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