TOKYO, Japan — Allyson Felix is just one race away from making history.
The L.A. native, who trained in Arizona multiple times, is tied with Jamaica's Merlene Ottey as the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history, with nine medals.
However, Felix will have a chance to add one more Olympic medal to her six golds and three silvers, after she ran her season's best time in the 400m semi-finals on Wednesday, securing her spot in the finals.
Competing in her fifth Olympics, Felix crossed the finish line with an impressive season-best time of 49.89 seconds, coming in second in group three. She was outpaced slightly in Semifinal 3 by Stephenie Ann McPherson of Jamaica, who finished in 49.34 seconds and took the top spot overall.
Felix finished seventh overall in the semis and will be in the finals lineup at 5:35 MST on Friday.
Felix has come to Arizona to train on multiple occasions, at one point staying for a month with her two-year-old daughter, as open tracks were hard to find in L.A. during the pandemic, she said.
The five-time Olympian has medaled at each of the Games she's competed in, winning silver in the 2004 Olympics, gold and silver in 2008, three golds in 2012, and two golds and one silver in 2016.
The 35-year-old has also won 19 medals, 14 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes, in world championship races.
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