Helene Elliott: Allyson Felix’s desire to win gold on the Olympic stage continues to shine bright
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and stalled runner Allyson Felix’s preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — which she planned as her fifth and last — she had to find new ways to squeeze in her workouts.
UCLA’s track and other favorite sites were off limits, sending Felix to the beach, parking lots and anywhere her coach, Bobby Kersee, could find open ground. Driven to improvise, Kersee turned the area near Felix’s Santa Clarita home into a makeshift track, drawing curious neighbors to see what the commotion was when he marked off distances and barked orders.
It was a surreal scene for Felix, who was 18 and a year out of L.A. Baptist High when she went to the 2004 Athens Olympics and won the first of her nine Olympic medals.
“The craziest experience
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