Sprinter beat Usain Bolt’s record just 10 months after spending time in the ICU after giving birth.
Not many athletes have done what Usain Bolt hasn’t, but America’s Allyson Felix managed to do just that back in 2019.
Bolt, now 39, is still the fastest person ever, holding world records for the 100m and 200m with times of 9.58 and 19.19 seconds. He was also part of the Jamaican team that set the 4x100m relay record in London 2012 with a super fast 36.84 seconds.
Besides his Olympic wins, Bolt earned 11 gold medals at the World Athletics Championships, plus two silvers and a bronze.
While no man has more than Bolt’s 11 World Championship golds, Felix, 40, holds the overall record for both men and women. She has 14 World Championship golds, along with three silvers and three bronzes, plus seven Olympic gold medals.
Before the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Felix was tied with Bolt at 11 golds. She broke Bolt’s record in the 4x400m mixed relay, then won her 13th gold in the women’s 4x400m race at the same event.
What makes her story even more inspiring is that she did this just 10 months after having her daughter, Camryn.
As BBC Sport reported, Felix was warned during a checkup at 32 weeks pregnant that she and her baby were in serious danger because she had pre-eclampsia, a condition with symptoms like severe headache, vision problems, pain under the ribs, vomiting, and sudden swelling. It can be very dangerous for both mother and baby.
Ten hours after getting to the hospital, Felix had an emergency C-section. But just over 10 months later, she was back winning gold at the World Championships.
“Last Christmas, when I was in the hospital, I couldn’t imagine I’d be here in Doha winning medals,” she said. “That time was scary and uncertain, but this moment is so happy.”
Since then, Felix added another World Championships gold in 2022 in Eugene, helping the USA win the 4x400m relay once more.
That year, she retired from sprinting, saying, “As a little girl, they called me chicken legs. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this kind of career. I’m so grateful to the sport that changed my life. I gave everything to running, and now I’m not sure if I have anything left to give.”
Throughout her career, Felix won a total of 20 medals at the World Athletics Championships, an amazing achievement.