Allyson Felix

Returning to her hometown, three-time Olympic medalist and USC graduate Allyson Felix says today's Adidas Track Classic at Home Depot Center is "important for me because my family and friends are going to be here." Felix expressed more concern, however, for "seeing where I'm at" with her speed rather than her overall finish as she prepares for the IAAF World Championships at Berlin in August.

It figured that Allyson Felix's apartment in Playa Vista would reflect her personality. Soft blues and earthy browns. A spare sense in the furnishings. Everything perfectly in its place except Chloe, her 4-year-old Yorkshire terrier, who drew a mild rebuke from Felix for investigating a visitor. A kitchen she keeps so neat and clean it was hard to believe that it's ever used. "I cook here,"Felix insisted, between bites of the salad and turkey sandwich her brother, Wes, had brought for her lunch.

Allyson Felix is part of what can be loosely called the Athens Generation in U.S. track, the athletes who emerged as champions at the 2004 Athens Olympics or the seasons between then and the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. A year before the 2012 Olympics, many of those athletes are struggling to remain healthy and fast in a single event. Felix, meanwhile, simply speeds along at a pace that, if not yet historically breathtaking at any one distance, has allowed her to maintain an unmatched level in several events.

Allyson Felix is part of what can be loosely called the Athens Generation in U.S. track, the athletes who emerged as champions at the 2004 Athens Olympics or the seasons between then and the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. A year before the 2012 Olympics, many of those athletes are struggling to remain healthy and fast in a single event. Felix, meanwhile, simply speeds along at a pace that, if not yet historically breathtaking at any one distance, has allowed her to maintain an unmatched level in several events.

Reporting from Des Moines, Iowa – Allyson Felix long ago proved she can run like the wind, even if it takes her awhile to get underway. In winning three world titles and two Olympic silver medals at 200 meters, Felix has used the strength needed for the longer sprints to overcome her notoriously slow starts. Friday, that strength was a key to Felix's first U.S. title in the 100, allowing her to fight through a headwind of 5.6 mph at Drake Stadium. "I haven't trained for the 100 this year," said Felix, who will spend the rest of the season running 200s and 400s.

Allyson Felix is graceful and gracious. She has a house in Santa Clarita, a Yorkshire terrier name Chloe, is considered a "girlie girl" by her mother and has a deep appreciation of shoes and purses. High heels may not be a track athlete's best friend, but Felix will bust out the stilettos if she is attending a fancy party or an honorary dinner. Felix, 22, is also one of the best sprinters in the world.

At just age 23, Allyson Felix achieved the unprecedented Friday night. She became the first woman to win three gold medals in a sprint event at the world track championships. But Felix would rather have the one gold medal that is missing during the four years it has taken her to win three consecutive 200-meter titles at the biennial world championships. "I would love to trade my three world championships for your gold," Felix said to Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica at the medalists' news conference.

For Olympic hopeful Allyson Felix, the road to Athens goes through Modesto. The 18-year-old sprint phenom has come to the Central Valley farming hub on a hazy May weekend to compete in the 63rd Annual Modesto Relays. At this decidedly unglamorous early-season meet, where the smell of mesquite from a nearby barbecue cook-off hovers in the air, Felix is a big draw. Last year, as a senior, she shattered Marion Jones' national high-school record in the 200-meter race.

The last 10 days have been emotional and exhausting for Allyson Felix. The 22-year-old from Los Angeles, who ran a personal-best 100-meter time of 10.93 seconds May 8 in Qatar, has since attended the funeral for the father of her boyfriend, Ken Ferguson, in Detroit and then attended her graduation from USC.

Allyson Felix SCHOOL: L.A. Baptist YEAR: Sophomore SPORT: Track and field SEASON AT A GLANCE: Felix has run career bests of 11.82 in the 100 meters and 23.48 in the 200. The 100 time--which she has run twice--is the fastest in the state this year and the 200 clocking is the fastest in the nation. WEEK AT A GLANCE: Felix won the 100 in 11.83 and the 200 in 23.48 in the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High on Saturday night. She also anchored L.A.

Reporting from Des Moines, Iowa – Allyson Felix long ago proved she can run like the wind, even if it takes her awhile to get underway. In winning three world titles and two Olympic silver medals at 200 meters, Felix has used the strength needed for the longer sprints to overcome her notoriously slow starts. Friday, that strength was a key to Felix's first U.S. title in the 100, allowing her to fight through a headwind of 5.6 mph at Drake Stadium. "I haven't trained for the 100 this year," said Felix, who will spend the rest of the season running 200s and 400s.

At just age 23, Allyson Felix achieved the unprecedented Friday night. She became the first woman to win three gold medals in a sprint event at the world track championships. But Felix would rather have the one gold medal that is missing during the four years it has taken her to win three consecutive 200-meter titles at the biennial world championships. "I would love to trade my three world championships for your gold," Felix said to Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica at the medalists' news conference.

Returning to her hometown, three-time Olympic medalist and USC graduate Allyson Felix says today's Adidas Track Classic at Home Depot Center is "important for me because my family and friends are going to be here." Felix expressed more concern, however, for "seeing where I'm at" with her speed rather than her overall finish as she prepares for the IAAF World Championships at Berlin in August.

They were overscheduled, underprepared and outclassed. The American sprint trio of Jeremy Wariner, Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay were favorites in the months leading into the Beijing Olympics, expected to exit the Bird's Nest with lots of gold medals hanging from their necks. Instead, they enter 2009 with a lot to prove because of injuries, training issues and -- oh, yeah -- those lightning-fast Jamaicans. Felix and Wariner left with gold medals, but they were in the 1,600-meter relays -- about the closest thing there is to a gimmie on the Olympic program for Americans.

Her loss in the Olympic 200-meter final was not surprising if you looked at it dispassionately, not after the ups and downs Allyson Felix had all season. She accepted the silver medal Thursday night with her customary graciousness, saying that being unhappy over a prize so few people have would make her ungrateful. It was tearing Felix up inside. "For two days after we got done crying after the race, she didn't talk to me," said her coach, Bob Kersee. He sent text messages.

EUGENE, Ore.--If the U.S. Olympic track team for the Beijing Games is composed of athletes as flat-out fast as Marshevet Hooker, as natural and unspoiled as 16-year-old Laura Roesler and as upstandingly honest as Allyson Felix and Lauryn Williams, maybe there's hope for a sport that has seemed intent on destroying itself through a never-ending series of drug scandals. Hooker, Felix and Williams are sprinters, all with NCAA or world or Olympic medals in their trophy cases.

EUGENE, Ore.--If the U.S. Olympic track team for the Beijing Games is composed of athletes as flat-out fast as Marshevet Hooker, as natural and unspoiled as 16-year-old Laura Roesler and as upstandingly honest as Allyson Felix and Lauryn Williams, maybe there's hope for a sport that has seemed intent on destroying itself through a never-ending series of drug scandals. Hooker, Felix and Williams are sprinters, all with NCAA or world or Olympic medals in their trophy cases.

The last 10 days have been emotional and exhausting for Allyson Felix. The 22-year-old from Los Angeles, who ran a personal-best 100-meter time of 10.93 seconds May 8 in Qatar, has since attended the funeral for the father of her boyfriend, Ken Ferguson, in Detroit and then attended her graduation from USC.

Allyson Felix is graceful and gracious. She has a house in Santa Clarita, a Yorkshire terrier name Chloe, is considered a "girlie girl" by her mother and has a deep appreciation of shoes and purses. High heels may not be a track athlete's best friend, but Felix will bust out the stilettos if she is attending a fancy party or an honorary dinner. Felix, 22, is also one of the best sprinters in the world.