No golden farewell for Felix in Oregon

EUGENE (Oregon) • Allyson Felix was at peace even as she was denied a golden goodbye at the World Athletics Championships after the United States took bronze in 3min 10.16sec behind the Dominican Republic (3:09.82) and Netherlands (3:09.90) in the 4x400m mixed relay in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday.

The home crowd had roared with delight as seven-gold Olympic champion Felix took the baton for the second leg although the 36-year-old, running in her final major championship race before her retirement this year, appeared to tire down the stretch.

The Americans still managed to open a massive gap at the final changeover and looked well set for victory before Dominican anchor Fiordaliza Cofil reeled in Kennedy Simon to win gold and improve on their Tokyo Games silver.

Netherlands anchor Femke Bol also produced an extraordinary effort down the home straight to come from 30m back and overtake Simon for silver and the 2019 champions had to settle for bronze.

"It was very special to be able to run in front of a home crowd for my last race," said Felix, whose bronze is her 19th world championships medal in a career that also included 11 Olympic medals.

"My daughter was in the stands. It was a night I will cherish."

She embraced her teammates at the finish, 18 years after she picked up her first Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Games, as the crowd gave the most decorated woman in the sport a warm send-off.

Draped in the American flag, Felix was all smiles as she took in the scene at Hayward Field.

"I've had such good memories. I know it is time and these guys will carry it on into the future," she added. "I am at peace stepping into this next stage and have tremendous gratitude for this sport."

Asked what wisdom she had to offer to the next generation of athletes, Felix said: "Embrace the journey. When you have difficult moments, it can break your heart.

"(But) every defeat, every feeling of failure, it's also an opportunity to get better."

The race capped the opening day of action in Eugene, where organisers failed to fill the stands for the first world championships on US soil as they look to build a bigger American fan base for the sport.

"Crowds tonight disappointing," four-gold former Olympic champion Michael Johnson tweeted. "Last race for Allyson Felix, icon of the sport and the stadium isn't full?"

A final street race in Los Angeles is planned next month to close out Felix's career and in the meantime, she plans to turn her attention to her advocacy for gender equality.

In the later years of her career, the American has become a powerful voice for female athletes.

She took part in last year's Tokyo Olympics three years after giving birth to daughter Camryn in 2018 following an emergency caesarean section.

She has since been a vocal advocate for the rights of working mothers and most notably, she split with long-time sponsor Nike in 2019 after criticising the sporting apparel giant for slashing her pay when she became pregnant.

"This season I'm running for women," Felix said earlier this year. "I'm running for a better future for my daughter. I hope that I'll be remembered as a fierce competitor, but I think more importantly to me is really trying to leave this sport better than I found it."

Two-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser had high praise for his US team co-captain.

"She's done so much for the sport and especially for women athletes, attracting attention to some really important issues we have in the sport," he said.

"She is just a class act."

In the other medal events on Friday, Peruvian Kimberly Garcia Leon won the first gold of these championships with her victory in the 20km race walk.

She crossed the line in 1hr 26min 58sec, with Poland's Katarzyna Zdzieblo claiming silver and China's Qieyang Shijie in third.

In the men's race, Japan's Toshikazu Yamanishi successfully retained his 2019 title after fighting off compatriot and Tokyo silver medallist Koki Ikeda to cross the line in 1:19:07. Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom took the bronze.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE