Allyson Felix has made history at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The 32-year-old won the silver medal in the 400-meter sprint and is now the most decorated woman in U.S. track and field history with a total of seven medals.
But it was disappointing when she finished in a stunning battle on the track. The image of the photo finish showed Miller edging Felix, the most decorated woman in American track history, by half a body length — or a mere seven-hundredths of a second on the clock — with a winning time of 49.44 seconds to Felix’s 49.51. Shericka Jackson of Jamaica was third in 49.85.
After the race, you could visibly see Felix get choked up about the loss. She said she was “deeply disapointed” because she is “a competitor” in every since of the word.
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But the loss is something she can’t focus on. Instead, she goes back to the reason why she’s running in the first place. The reason why she trained, sacrificed, made it to the olympics and made history: her faith.
“Last night didn’t end the way I had dreamed. I’m disappointed. I was quickly reminded of countless reasons to be proud, thankful and grateful. [Coach] Bobby [Kersee] told me this is the most proud he has ever been of me. That resonated with me. Everything went wrong this year, but some way I made it here and won a silver medal. I fought as hard as I could and gave my all. I’m most proud of never giving up on my dreams in the face of adversity. I’m extremely humbled to now be the most decorated female Olympian in USATF history. All glory to God!”
“Faith leads my life. That’s definitely the reason that I run. I definitely feel like I’ve been blessed with this gift, and so that’s something that helps me to see the bigger picture. It’s so easy to get caught up in winning everything and just the kind of the grind of what professional sports is, but it definitely helps me to kind of pull back and see that there’s a greater purpose. [Career down moments] are still difficult. I think a lot of times you want faith to kind of be the answer to everything, and it’s still a struggle to get there, you know? There are very real moments that are hard, but I think that it helps me to be able to learn the lesson that there is a purpose, a reason why maybe that happened, and it can create something in you and it might be preparing you for something better in the future.”
And preparation is something that Felix knows all about. Here, she describes how she prepares her body inside and out for the grueling it will take on the field.
“A few years ago, I got much more serious about my diet, and it’s made a big difference in the way I perform and…