COLORADO SPRINGS — The 2012 Olympics are 10 months away, but for sprinter Allyson Felix, they are never far from her mind. And when someone mentions London, she feels the flutter of butterflies in her gut.
“I’m constantly thinking about it,” Felix said. “I feel like maybe I do it more than others, just because I have a lot of motivation. I use it as a tool to motivate me and drive me through workouts.”
Much of the motivation comes from the 2008 Beijing Games, when she had to settle for a silver medal in the 200 meters, an event she has won three times at world championships. She also faces a new threat from American Carmelita Jeter, formerly a 100-meter specialist who beat Felix in the 200 at this year’s world championships.
Meanwhile, Felix is considering what coach Bobby Kersee calls “the ultimate challenge,” attempting a rare double in the 200 and 400 in London — the feat that made Michael Johnson a superstar at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Felix could well become the female face of the U.S. track team in London, especially if she decides to do the double. The daughter of an ordained Baptist minister, she has long been a proactive voice in the battle against performance-enhancing drugs. She has a degree in elementary education from Southern Cal and serves on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition with the likes of Drew Brees, Grant Hill and Michelle Kwan.
“I was such an active kid,” Felix said last week during the U.S. Olympic Assembly in Colorado Springs. “For kids to just want to stay inside and play video games is something that’s just weird. It’s sad that we’re faced with this problem, and that it’s such a big problem.”
With 10 other athletes in track, swimming and cycling, Felix is part of a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency program called “My Victory,” which challenges young athletes to compete clean. Some believe she has the personality to redeem the image of the sport in the U.S. from the damage done by Marion Jones.
“It’s something that’s really near and dear to my heart,” Felix said. “I love the sport of track and field, and it’s sad that we’ve had so many people who have gone down the wrong path. Everything I can do to advocate for clean sport is what’s really on my heart. And to stress to kids: It is a journey. It does take a long time to run fast, when you do things the right way.”
A star at 18
Felix made her Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Games at age 18. One of the bright new faces who distinguished the U.S. track team at those Games, she won a silver medal in the 200.
“I feel like that will always be my fondest memories of the Olympics, just because everything was new to me,” Felix said. “I wasn’t really expected to do anything there. It was just fun.”
She won consecutive 200-meter world titles in 2005, 2007 and 2009, but Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown edged her at the Beijing Olympics by less than 0.2 of a second. It took Felix a long time to get over that.
“It was so tough, because the expectations were high,” Felix said. “I put pressure on myself, I had outside pressure, and I was just disappointed not to be successful in what I felt like was a great opportunity. Still, sometimes I think about it and get down about it.”
She gave the 200-400 double a trial run at this year’s world championships in South Korea, taking bronze in the 200 (behind Campbell-Brown and Jeter) and silver in the 400. Some treated the 400 outcome as a failure, but she finished only 0.03 of a second behind Amantle Montsho of Botswana in a 49-second race.
Kersee, who coached Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Gail Devers and Florence Griffith-Joyner, didn’t see it as a failure at all.
“He saw it as an encouraging thing to get through the schedule and be able to end the meet still feeling like I could still do the relays well,” Felix said. “He felt like it was a great starting point going into next year. I value his opinion greatly, so when he thinks I can do something, it means a lot to me.”
Comfortable with 400
The 200 isn’t as complicated because it’s a sprint that takes a little more than 20 seconds. The 400 requires pacing and tactics. At the worlds, Felix let the race get away from her after 150 meters, forcing her to kick early.
“It’s a race that I don’t have as much experience in, especially at a top level,” Felix said. “I feel like I learned a lot from that. It used to be a race that just really terrified me. I feel a lot more comfortable in it now.”
Felix is intrigued by the 400 but doesn’t want it to jeopardize her chances in the 200.
“The 200 is where my heart is,” Felix said. “I’m a sprinter, I love to sprint. As much as I have potential in the 400, I always come back to the 200. It’s always just been fun to me.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
