Allyson Felix, the most decorated track athlete in history, has set her sights on an Olympic comeback on home soil in Los Angeles in 2028.
Felix has won 11 medals, including seven golds, in a record-setting career and last raced at the 2022 World Championships.
The 40-year-old welcomed a second child in 2024 and did not compete at the Paris Games, but has admitted the temptation of racing on home soil is too strong to not consider a return to action.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime homecoming,” Felix told Time magazine. “And it is the only thing powerful enough to pull me back.
“I know, at 40, I am not at my peak. I have no illusions about that. I’m very clear in what it is and what I want to see. And so I hope it’s seen that way.
“When I was competing, you just heard this roar for host-country athletes at the Olympics. I would love to experience that.
“I would probably be upset at myself if I just didn’t give it a try. However it turns out, I’ll still be there with my kids, hanging out and cheering everybody on.”
Felix won her first Olympic medal at Athens 2004, taking silver in the 200m, and triumphed over that distance at London 2012.
A versatile sprinter, she has been part of multiple successful quartets in both the 4x100m and 4x400m, and has also won a record 20 medals at the World Championships, the most for any woman or man, including 14 titles.
The path back to the Olympics will be tough, though, with Felix having to negotiate the US Olympic trials. She will be 42 by the time of the LA28 Games.
“So many of us have been told not to do the big, bold thing,” Felix said. “You know, at this age, I should probably be staying home and taking care of my kids, doing all that. And just, why not? Let’s flip it on its head. Let’s go after the thing. Let’s be vulnerable.”
