NY Times · Aug 6, 2021
Allyson Felix Has Joy, and a 10th Olympic Medal
TOKYO — Allyson Felix stayed on the track for a long time on Friday night after finishing the 400-meter race.
She fell on her back after peering up at the scoreboard and seeing her name behind those of Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas and Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic.
Allyson Felix, Lane 9, third place, 49.46.
She had done it. Ten Olympic medals.
When asked if her reaction — lying on the track, staring at the sky — was exhaustion or emotion, she said it was “probably a combination.”
She has competed in so many 400-meter races in so many places over so many years. It always hurts, she said. On Friday, the pain was diluted by joy.