Four years after retiring, Allyson Felix, a mother of two, with children aged 7 and 2, has decided to return to competitive sprinting. Her brother Wes was shocked when she broke this news to him in a formal meeting, via a presentation titled ‘Project Six’. He admitted he thought there was a “zero percent chance” she was going to say this. He could have thought of a million other things she would say before this. If her brother was shocked, the bigger question was: how did the rest of her family react? We finally have that answer.
Apparently, Felix’s mom took some time to adjust to the news, although Felix found her reaction the funniest.
“Um, my mom was probably the funniest,” Felix confessed on the TODAY show. “She was just like, “Are you sure? You know, she always gets so nervous watching the races. So she took a little bit more convincing.”
Although her daughter Camryn didn’t seem all that impressed with the news at first. “My daughter was kind of, uh, unimpressed,” Felix explained. “Her first question was, can she also make the team?”
In fact, Felix also uploaded a video on Instagram capturing Camryn’s reaction to her trying to make the Olympic relay team. A surprised Camryn questioned, “Again?” before adding, “I want to make the team.”
Yet, despite all the convincing she had to do and the questions she had to answer, Allyson Felix felt nothing but love and support. “A lot of love and support there,” she said.
The support hasn’t just come from Felix’s family; in fact, her comeback has won support from all over the world. Serena Williams was among the many who commented on Felix’s comeback post, saying, “I love this so much. Cant wait.”
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For Felix as a track and field star, things will definitely be tougher, but as Merlene Ottey proved, it’s still possible to compete at the Olympics well beyond 40. There are even other athletes at the Olympic level to take inspiration from. Elana Meyers Taylor made history by becoming the oldest woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
And yet, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was taking place in LA, Allyson Felix wouldn’t have come out of retirement. The 40-year-old was, after all, born in the city, which makes it a homecoming for her.
“If it wasn’t LA, I wouldn’t be as curious,” Felix added. “You know, um, I just can’t imagine not going for it with it being in my hometown.”
However, the odds are against Allyson Felix as no American sprinter has ever qualified for the Olympics in their 40s. Yet, in an attempt to make things slightly easier, Felix has narrowed her focus down to a few events in particular.
Allyson Felix reveals what event she’s targeting at LA 2028
There’s no denying Allyson Felix’s place in history. An American sports icon, the 40-year-old thrived in multiple disciplines during her peak sprinting days, including the 100m, 200m, and 400m. In fact, she won multiple Olympic medals across all three disciplines, including gold medals in the 4×100 m and 4x400m relays. But now well past her prime, Felix has narrowed down her focus.
Instead of attempting to qualify for all her former events, Allyson Felix has instead focused on the mixed 4x400m relays.
“My ideal situation would be to try to make the relay pool for maybe the mixed 4x400m relay,” Felix said, as per Reuters.
That’s because she knows exactly what it takes to be a sprinter competing across multiple disciplines. But since she retired, Felix has been well off that pace even if she has been training since October 2025. If anything, the 40-year-old has nothing to prove and nobody knows that better than her, which is why for Allyson Felix, this is simply an experiment.
“I’m not here trying to relive who I was. This is something different,” Felix explained, as per Olympics.com. “A question that keeps pulling me in. What is still humanly possible?”
She added, “I just kept feeling this question coming to me. I wanted to show my kids what it looks like to go after something. And it may not work out, but it’s really the courage to try that I want to demonstrate for them.”
For Allyson Felix, LA 2028 is as much about family as it is unfinished business. And while the comeback surprised those closest to her, their support made the decision easier.
