It's not really a stretch to describe Californian Allyson Felix as "the future" of sprinting.  Her world-leading 22.11 in Mexico City's thin air on May 3 not only made that point abundantly clear, it even suggested that "the future" might be now.

If that seems like over-reaching, consider the following:
- Her performance at the Grand Prix Banamex, while altitude-aided, broke a world junior record that had stood for 23 years;
- Only 25 women have ever run faster;
- She supplanted American sprint queen Marion Jones as the fastest high schooler and fastest junior in the United States;
- Her mark would have tied her with Jones as the fastest 200 sprinter last season;
- No one has run faster since 2000;
- And she won't turn 18 until November 18.

That vague title, being described as "the future," sits just fine with the senior at Los Angeles Baptist High School.

"It feels good,'" she said, "and I'm definitely looking forward to what the season has to hold.  It encourages me and helps me get through those hard practices."

Speaking to reporters via teleconference during a break from classes at the small private school in the San Fernando Valley, Felix was both humble and confident about her desires and goals in the sport, while showing some patience and a realistic approach to what many hope will be a very long and successful career.

"I've just been really excited about this year and accomplishing my goals from last year.  I've learned so much from the trips, and such valuable things from interacting with the different athletes.  I'm just excited about the future."

Her rise was nearly as fast as her performances.

She credits her brother Wes, two years her senior and a promising sprinter himself, as an integral part in her motivation to begin running.

"He played a big role in getting me started and encouraging me," she said.  "Since I was little we always raced each other. That's something I always enjoyed."

Encouraged by her father, a professor at Master's Seminary in Sun Valley, Calif., and brother, Felix decided to give track a try in the ninth grade.

"A couple weeks after I came out for track, my coach noticed I was kind of fast," she recalls.  So fast, in fact, that her coach, Jonathan Patton, couldn't -or wouldn't-immediately believe his eyes.  "I was running a flying 60. He checked the time, and checked the distance again."  But she soon showed that seeing was indeed believing.

The next year, she won the California state title in the 100 and finished second in the 200, ending the season with bests of 11.51 and 23.31.  Last season, she won both the state short sprint titles, finished runner-up at the USA Junior Championships, and fifth at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, ending the season with 11.40 and 22.83 PBs.  At age 16 she was not only the fastest USA junior in the half lap, she was the sixth fastest among Americans, and had cracked the world's top-30.

This year, her hot streak continued.  Indoors, she tied (23.22) then lowered the national high school record, clocking 23.14 to finish second in the national championships.  Two weeks later, she was a semi-finalist in the World Indoor Championships, and showed no signs of slowing down.  She unseated Jones as the fastest American teenager in April at the Mt. SAC Relays, clocking 22.51, lowering a mark that had stood since 1992.

Then came her trip to Mexico City, an experience and an atmosphere she hopes to relive elsewhere very soon.

"I've never experienced anything like that before, to run in front of that many people before.  It's something I definitely want to do again.  I just kind of fell in love with it."

In Mexico City, she beat a strong international field, including 1999 world champion Inger Miller, but she insists that the pros have not shared -at least visibly- the  least bit of animosity towards a 17 year-old upstart.

"Actually, they've all been really nice and supportive," she said of her more experienced competitors.  "They've all been encouraging me.  I've gotten a chance to meet them and talk to them a bit.  There hasn't been any negativity."

While she appreciates the inevitable comparisons to Jones, whose autograph she sought just a year ago, she prefers to chart her own path.

"I've definitely followed her career," she said of the Olympic champion, "and I admire her and she's the one I definitely look up to.  

"I understand where people are coming from, and the similarities that they see, and I take that all as a compliment and it's an honor just to be mentioned in the same sentence as her.  But I'm also trying to be something different," she continued. 

"I don't want to be known as the next Marion Jones. I'm my own person."

That path may include bypassing collegiate competition at the University of Southern California, where she is scheduled to enroll in the fall, to jump directly into the professional ranks.  But that decision, she said, has yet to be made.

"Right now, I'm planning on going to USC, but I'm just saying that nothing's impossible.  Things can still happen.  I'm not positive when I'll make that decision," she added, "we'll just see how things go."

Going the collegiate route could postpone the start of her NCAA career, a possibility that USC would eagerly oblige.  "Either way, I'll definitely be focusing on the Olympics.  And if I do end up at USC, they're going to work with me.  They know that's my goal.  We've already talked about that."

But she admitted that she will miss Jones this season.

"I definitely wish she was around.  I thrive off of competition and I look forward to racing her but I know that there will be plenty of time in the future."

In the meantime, she has more immediate concerns, like her 100m race at this weekend's inaugural Home Depot/Los Angeles Invitational, as well as earning a spot on the US sprint squad for the Paris World Championships.

"At the beginning of the year, my goal was always to break Marion Jones' record," she explained.  "After that happened at Mt. SAC, that's when I readjusted my goals.  Now I'm kind of focused on making the world championship team.  So that's definitely what I'm training for."

This weekend, she said, "I am trying to build my confidence [in the shorter sprint] to see where I'm at.  I'll be ready to go.  I'm just basically looking to see where I'm at."

After that comes her final California State Championship on June 6 and 7, and later that month, her second attempt to make another appearance this year at a world championship.  At the US nationals, she will only contest her stronger event, since the qualifying rounds of the shorter dash coincide with her graduation ceremonies.

Expectations are certainly high, from prospective agents and collegiate administrators, to fans and media alike.  But Felix is a teenager after all, and exudes a patient enthusiasm, seemingly as eager to collect experiences as she is medals.

"I go into every race with the goal to win," she said of the upcoming US Championships.  "My goal is to make to team.  I know that if I make it, the experience will just benefit me.  I'm looking forward to it."

The same holds true for Athens next year.  "I'm just really excited," she said of her very real chance of competing on a stage that will dwarf the atmosphere she fell in love with in Mexico City.  "I'd love to come away with a medal, but more important is just the experience that I can gain from that."

Sharing wisdom beyond her years, she said, "Everything's going well. I'm keeping it all in perspective."