Felix, Allyson (1985-…), is an American sprinter. She primarily runs the 400-meter race and the 400-meter relay. At the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, she broke the record for the most Olympic medals won by an American track and field athlete. (The games were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Felix has won 11 Olympic medals at five Olympic Games. 
Allyson Michelle Felix was born on Nov. 18, 1985, in Santa Clarita, California. She attended Los Angeles Baptist High School in North Hills, where she started running track her freshman year. Felix broke records and won many competitions while in high school. In 2018, she married the American sprinter and hurdler Kenneth Ferguson.
In 2003, Felix broke her own record in the 200-meter dash at the Banamex Grand Prix in Mexico City, setting a new world record in the under-20 category. She later enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC) and earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education. Felix did not join USC’s track and field team. At that time, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) prohibited student athletes from competing professionally or signing endorsements. Felix had begun competing professionally after graduating high school. She had also signed a sponsorship deal with the sportswear company Adidas.
Felix won her first gold medal at the 2003 National Championships and has won 18 championship medals since then. She won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, in the 200-meter dash. She suffered a hamstring injury in 2013 and took time off from competition to recover.
In 2010, she signed a sponsorship deal with the sportswear manufacturer Nike. She later ended her contract with Nike and spoke out against the company. Felix said that Nike greatly reduced her pay when she became pregnant and expected her to return to training soon after giving birth. She signed with Athleta, a division of clothier Gap Inc., in 2019. Felix created a shoe and lifestyle brand Saysh and ran in shoes she designed at the 2020 Olympics.
At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Felix won gold medals in the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays, as well as a silver medal in the 400-meter relay. In 2019, Felix returned to racing after recovering from a cesarean section (surgical childbirth) and won two gold medals at the World Championships. Her 13 World Championship gold medals broke a record held by the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Felix won the bronze medal in the 400-meter dash and gold in the 1,600-meter relay.
