Felix makes a comeback and lands her 5th Olympics

EUGENE, Ore.— Flat on her back, gasping for breath, Allyson Felix kept her eyes on the scoreboard.

When her name came up in the second spot in the 400meters, she kicked up her heels and covered her face with her hands.

No doubt, this fifth trip to the Olympics is her sweetest.

The 35-year-old mom rallied from fifth at the start of the homestretch to the secondplace finish at U.S. track trials. It earned her the chance to win a 10th Olympic medal and break a tie with Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey as the most decorated female track athlete in the history of the games.

“I’m just proud of making it to this moment,” Felix said after Sunday’s race. “There’s so much that’s gone into this. Many times, I wasn’t sure if it was possible. I’m just proud of fighting and making a way somehow.”

Running from outside her usual comfort zone, in Lane 8, Felix got off to a fast start and led 100meters in. Slowly, she lost the lead, lost her grip on the third spot and was fighting just to stay close. But in a closing burst that will likely go down as one her her best, she reeled in half the field.

Felix finished in 50.02seconds, 0.24behind Quanera Hayes, who also has a 2-year-old, and 0.01ahead of Wadeline Jonathas.

“I knew one thing was for sure. I was going to go down fighting to the line,” Felix said.

Sunday wasn’t all great for the 30-something crowd.

In a jam-packed 100men’s final, 39-yearold Justin Gatlin pulled up lame about halfway through the race and finished last. The former Olympic and world champion is entered in the 200, as well, but this could signal the end of an era.

The new era belongs to Trayvon Bromell, Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley, who finished in the top three spots, also leaving Noah Lyles out of the mix (but still the favorite in the 200).

World-record holder Keni Harrison won the 100-meter women’s hurdles title, though the American threesome for that race isn’t quite set.

Defending Olympic champion Brianna McNeal finished second, but her trip is contingent on her winning an appeal on a doping conviction related to missed tests. She’s banned for five years, but was allowed to race while waiting on the appeal. Fourth-place finisher Gabbi Cunningham could get her spot.