After a disappointment, Allyson Felix readies for another run at Olympic success

Allyson Felix expected that she’d weep at some point, that once she got past the initial shock of finishing an agonizingly close fourth in the 200-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials and losing the chance to defend her Olympic title in Rio, she would let go and mourn what might have been.

She had focused so intently on attempting a 200-400 double — Olympic organizers had changed the schedule to accommodate her — that she was unsure of what to do and what would come next after it was pulled out from beneath her. She didn’t hide her devastation when she spoke to reporters Sunday in Eugene, Ore., where she blamed the result on lack of pre-competition speed work caused by a late-April ankle injury.

The six-time Olympic medalist is still hurting, but her eyes have remained dry. She has begun to move on, to concentrate on the great possibilities that remain in the 400 and, she hopes, in the relays.

“I didn’t cry. No. But I am very disappointed and it goes in waves. It hits at different times,” the 30-year-old Los Angeles native said Tuesday during a series of media interviews at a hotel in Beverly Hills. “I think waking up on Monday was probably the saddest, just realizing that it wasn’t going to happen.

“I think I just have to take the time to regroup and see the positives and see the new outlook. And I think that’s fine. It’s just going to look different than I imagined it, but that doesn’t have to be a negative thing.”

A dream detoured need not be a dream denied for Felix in her fourth Olympics.

At the trials, she ran the fastest time in the world this year — 49.68 seconds — to win the 400 and a berth in Rio de Janeiro. She’s hoping rest, treatment and adjusting her training plans with Coach Bobby Kersee will allow her to regain the smooth, sure power that has been the foundation of her success.

“I’m still kind of surprised,” she said of her time in the 400, “but when I look at how I ran the race, I want to get back to my typical running and just being more confident and knowing my body can withstand it. But it is definitely super-encouraging to know where I am right now and where I can be, there’s still growth.”

She has grown up on the world stage, daughter of a minister and a teacher who insisted she get a college degree even though they knew track was her passion and would be her profession. After graduating from Los Angeles Baptist High in North Hills, she dutifully got a degree in elementary education from USC, even though she didn’t compete for the Trojans. She was 18 in her Olympic debut in 2004 at Athens, where she won a silver medal in the 200, and in 2008 at Beijing she won silver in the 200 plus gold in the 1,600-meter relay. At London in 2012 she finally earned an individual gold in the 200, as well as gold medals in both relays.

She has matured into a poised and polished woman, as comfortable in front of the camera in a TV advertisement for Bounty paper towels as she is on the track.

“I’ve changed across the board. Just growing as an athlete, being a naive teenager and seeing the world of sports kind of just blown open for what it really is,” she said. “It’s almost kind of sad to see what was really behind closed doors and what was happening. It’s almost like I wish I could go back to not knowing.

“I’ve also gained strength and experience. I feel like I can appreciate my sport now and the people in it and I feel like I’ve grown a lot.”

She also has developed a ferocity on the track that’s unlike her soft-spoken manner away from competition. “It’s something that is necessary. It’s also something that kind of just happens. It’s an important part of it,” she said. “People do look at women’s sports in a certain way, I don’t know, it’s just not seen at the same level. I feel like it is, it can get intense.”

Felix said Rio “very well could be” her last Olympics, but added, “I haven’t put any limits on it. I’m taking it year by year.” In Rio she will be a voice of experience for the U.S. track and field team, which includes 84 first-time Olympians. Her advice to them is simple.

“Take it all in. For a lot of them, this is the least amount of pressure they’ll have. Enjoy it,” said Felix, who marched in the opening ceremony at Athens, Beijing and London and plans to march in Rio. “Enjoy it. Experience everything the Olympics have to offer. Just savor the moment. You never know in sports what’s going to happen to you. Embrace it.”

Embracing a journey that has taken an unexpected turn means that her next tears might spring from joy and be shed before the world on the Rio medal stand.