Former USC star Allyson Felix won’t run the 200 at world championships
Allyson Felix of the United States, center, had been hoping to double in the 200 and 400 meters at the IAAF world championships in Beijing.
It doesn’t matter that Allyson Felix believes she could win the 200 and 400 meters at the track world championships in Beijing this week.
The schedule won’t let her.
Officials have slotted the 200 semifinals about an hour before the 400 final, which does not leave enough time for recovery. Though Felix is the reigning Olympic champ in the 200, she will run only the longer race.
“I felt in shape to do both,” she said Friday. “But in the end it really did not fit with the schedule.”
The former USC star still has a chance to win multiple medals if the U.S. coaches select her to run in the 400-meter and/or 1,600-meter relays.
The International Olympic Committee might also consider altering its schedule at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, providing more space between the 200 and 400.
“The Olympic program has been defined in principle, but if we have a special case where we can help an athlete, we would still be ready to discuss,” IOC President Thomas Bach told the Associated Press. “It would have repercussions on others. Have to see if it would be possible or not. I can’t tell you what the outcome of such a discussion would be.”
A shift would not be unprecedented. The IOC altered its schedule for Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Games, where he became the first man to achieve a 200-400 double.
The IAAF world championships begin Friday and continue through Aug. 30.
Follow David Wharton on Twitter @LATimesWharton
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