Felix in powerful US squad for world championships

US TRACK and field star Allyson Felix was named to her ninth consecutive World Championships team on Monday as the US unveiled a powerful squad for this month’s athletics showpiece in Doha.

Felix, 33, was selected as part of the US team’s relay pool after failing to qualify for an individual 400m berth at the US trials in Des Moines, Iowa, in July.

It means Felix has the chance to add to her astonishing collection of 11 World Championship gold medals, won in individual and relay events between 2005 and 2017.

Felix, who first appeared in the 2003 World Championships as a teenage prodigy, hit the comeback trail this season after the birth of her daughter in November last year.

After her si xt h place f inish in t he 400m f inal at t he tria ls, which a lso ser ved as the US championships, at Dra ke Universit y, Fel i x sa id she would only t ravel to Qatar for t he World Championships on merit.

“If I feel like I’m in good form to be able to help the team, then yes [I’ll go],” the six-time Olympic gold medallist said.

Felix is part of a 141-strong US team for Doha that contains eight reigning world champions and 13 Rio Olympic gold medallists.

Reig ning world cha mpions Tor i Bowie, Kori Carter, Emma Coburn, Phyllis Francis, Justin Gatlin, Sam Kend r ic k s, Br it t a ny Re e s e a nd Christ ia n Taylor a l l received byes i nto t he cha mpion sh ips wh ich ta ke place f rom September 27 to October 6.

This season’s Diamond League champions Noah Lyles (200m), Ajee Wilson (800m) and Michael Norman (400m) also received byes.

Meanwhile 100m sprinter Christian Coleman is included in the squad after he recently escaped a drug ban on a technicality.

Coleman risked a suspension after drug-testers were unable to locate him on three separate occasions in a 12-month period.

However the charges against him were withdrawn because of a technicality on September 2 after the US A n t i - D o p i n g A g e n c y ( Us a d a ) re c eive d g u ida nc e on how t he 12-mont h w i ndow s hou l d b e ca lculated.

That decision left Coleman free to run in Doha where he will start as the favourite for the 100m.