Debrecen 2001 - Allyson Felix (© © Allsport)
Allyson Felix has a lot ahead of her, these days. Four days of competition at the recent USA Championships in Indianapolis netted Felix spots on the American team for the World Championships in Osaka in three events: the 100m, the 200m (where she won her third national championship, and will defend her 2005 World title), and the 4x100m relay. With the third and fourth fastest 400m times on the national list for 2007 before the championships, she wouldn't mind a spot on the 4x400m relay squad as well.
In hindsight, this wouldn't be unexpected for the athlete who won the 100m at the 2nd IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary in 2001. Looking forward from Debrecen, things looked a little different.
"At that point," Felix says, "nobody was really saying anything [about her future prospects]. It was really only my second year running. I wasn't even really aware of the World Championships. That was my first taste of anything international; we were just living in the moment, then."
"I definitely have friends that I met [at the World Youth Championship] that I still have now. I remember meeting people from the different teams I'm still in contact with. It was my first international experience competing, so everything was new to me. I remember everything about it, and it's a really good picture of what the World Championships are like."
Competition at all levels
Felix's rapid rise to international competition included major events at all levels. After Debrecen, both she and her brother Wes competed in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. Allyson finished 5th in the 200m there.
"Our 2002 Junior team, pretty nearly all our best young athletes were on it. It's incredible to look at our team [for Osaka] and then see how many of them were on that team."
Sanya Richards, Lauryn Williams, and Bershawn Jackson are just a few of the athletes who ran with Felix in Kingston.
Learning from experience
Even though few World Youth champions have had her success - yet - Felix thinks the experience is invaluable.
"It's good practice for kids because it's a perfect imitation of what the real thing is like. I'm sure if I had known everything I know now, it would have been different, but I think that's the purpose of the meet. The kids going in are so young, they don't have that experience.
"It definitely gives you a taste of what's to come, so you get the idea of what it's going to be like later on, on a bigger scale. It's very motivating. It lets you know what bigger competitions are like."
Motivated for more
"I don't think it was until later I realized what a big deal [the Debrecen victory] was. I just went back to training the way I had before. I just focused on local things like the [California] State Meet. Later, though, I was aware of things like the World Juniors, and I was training with the motivation of making those teams."
After Kingston, Felix made U.S. teams for the 2003 Pan Am Games, then the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Along the way, she made a point of learning from her own experience and the experiences of others.
"A lot of [her successful transition to professional athletics] was coaching and gaining experience running different meets. I was talking to a lot of different people and getting advice from them.
"One thing that's easier now is knowing what to expect. [At the World Youth Championships,] everything's new, you have nerves, and so on. Now, I'm more relaxed. It's more serious now, there wasn't any pressure [in Debrecen] like there is now."
Knowing what to expect in the big meets helped Felix win a bronze medal and set a World Junior record in the 200m at the Athens Olympics, where she was just 18.
A fortunate phone call
The most surprising part of Felix's World Youth experience is the path she took to Debrecen. "I don't think I was really aware of [the World Youth Championships]. I ran in [USA Track and Field's] Junior Olympics, because a friend from my high school team was involved and she got me to run as well. I was originally supposed to run the 200, and then someone dropped off the team or something which allowed me to qualify. They called me up to let me know. We weren't even aware of it."
A tough schedule ahead
On her way to Osaka, Felix will run 100m in Paris, Lausanne, and Rome, and 400m in London. At early-season meets in the USA, Felix sometimes doubled in the 100m and 400m.
"Doubles have made me strong. This was the first time I've run the 100m at [US] Nationals, and I think it went well. [Coach] Bobby [Kersee] trains us to be very strong at the end. With my 400m workouts this season, I was really confident that I could come strong home."
Five years after entering the 200m starting blocks with Sanya Richards in Kingston, Felix raced Richards again in Indianapolis, and likely will race her again in Osaka. "When you're very hungry, you can do amazing things," said Felix of Richards, "and I would never count her out. I'm happy she made the team, and this will be another great race in Osaka."
And when Felix hears the starter's instructions in Osaka, they will be another repetition of the same international championships ritual she learned in Debrecen six years ago.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
