Allyson Felix with Joanna Hayes and Kenneth Ferguson at Los Angeles Sparks WNBA game (© Kirby Lee)
In her latest IAAF diary, Allyson Felix discusses some of her doubling options as the U.S. Olympic Trials approach. Will she add the 100m? Or the 400m? That decision, she says, has yet to be made.
"Hi everyone,
"It’s been pretty hectic since my last update. I’m on my way to Oregon to run in my first 200m of the year at the Prefontaine Classic this weekend.
" It will be a very competitive race with Carmelita Jeter and Shalonda Solomon, Bianca Knight, LaShantea Moore and Jeneba Tarmoh. I’ll be back in Eugene in a couple of weeks for the Olympic Trials and I am sure that I will see a lot of those women in the 200m final.
"There has been a lot of discussion about attempting a double with the 200m and the 400m or the 100m and the 200m.
"I am encouraged by my progress in the 100m. I ran a PB 10.92 in Doha on 5 May. It was the first time that I had run under 11 seconds since 2008. I knew I had the fitness to run that fast but my racing had been limited to running the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays in my earlier meets at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational and the Mt. San Antonio College and Penn relays.
"My feeling about a double is that it excites me. Right now my complete focus is on Olympic Trials and making the team in the 200m. I've always said from the beginning that I would also love to compete in either the 100m or 400m at Trials. Depending on how my coach Bobby Kersee feels my preparation is coming we'll make the decision. I'm excited to run either at trials.
"Managing traveling with training has gone really well. At this point, I've shut down all traveling that isn't for competing so that I can completely be focused on preparation for trials at home in Los Angeles.
"I attended several basketball games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles recently. Basketball is my first love in high school before I started running track.
"I went to watch a Los Angeles Lakers playoff game with figure skater Michelle Kwan. We are on the President's Council on Physical Fitness together and became friends through that. We also live right next to each other and both love the Lakers.
"It was heartbreaking because we led the entire game and then lost in the last two minutes. But I love my team, even though we didn't make it out of the second round.
"I also attend a WNBA game to watch the Los Angeles Sparks season opener and my neighbor Candace Parker play. I had a great time with Joanna Hayes and her daughter Zoe Thomas and my boyfriend Kenneth Ferguson.
"That’s it for now. Thanks for reading,
Allyson
"Hi everyone,
"It’s been pretty hectic since my last update. I’m on my way to Oregon to run in my first 200m of the year at the Prefontaine Classic this weekend.
" It will be a very competitive race with Carmelita Jeter and Shalonda Solomon, Bianca Knight, LaShantea Moore and Jeneba Tarmoh. I’ll be back in Eugene in a couple of weeks for the Olympic Trials and I am sure that I will see a lot of those women in the 200m final.
"There has been a lot of discussion about attempting a double with the 200m and the 400m or the 100m and the 200m.
"I am encouraged by my progress in the 100m. I ran a PB 10.92 in Doha on 5 May. It was the first time that I had run under 11 seconds since 2008. I knew I had the fitness to run that fast but my racing had been limited to running the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays in my earlier meets at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational and the Mt. San Antonio College and Penn relays.
"My feeling about a double is that it excites me. Right now my complete focus is on Olympic Trials and making the team in the 200m. I've always said from the beginning that I would also love to compete in either the 100m or 400m at Trials. Depending on how my coach Bobby Kersee feels my preparation is coming we'll make the decision. I'm excited to run either at trials.
"Managing traveling with training has gone really well. At this point, I've shut down all traveling that isn't for competing so that I can completely be focused on preparation for trials at home in Los Angeles.
"I attended several basketball games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles recently. Basketball is my first love in high school before I started running track.
"I went to watch a Los Angeles Lakers playoff game with figure skater Michelle Kwan. We are on the President's Council on Physical Fitness together and became friends through that. We also live right next to each other and both love the Lakers.
"It was heartbreaking because we led the entire game and then lost in the last two minutes. But I love my team, even though we didn't make it out of the second round.
"I also attend a WNBA game to watch the Los Angeles Sparks season opener and my neighbor Candace Parker play. I had a great time with Joanna Hayes and her daughter Zoe Thomas and my boyfriend Kenneth Ferguson.
"That’s it for now. Thanks for reading,
Allyson