photo by John Dye

17-year-old Allyson Felix wins ticket to Paris for World Championships Most high school seniors take a senior trip, but Allyson Felix is ridiculous. First, the Los Angeles Baptist HS senior went to Birmingham England for the World Indoor Championships. Then she went to Mexico City for a Grand Prix meet and beat the pros at 200 meters in 22.11, best in the world this year and a world junior record. Now, she will go to Paris as part of Team USA at the World Outdoor Championships August 23-31. Felix took the first step to Paris Saturday by cruising through a preliminary heat in 23.19, fastest time of the day, into a -4.8 headwind, strongest headwind of the round. In the semis Sunday, Felix took second in her heat in 22.84 +1.8 but felt her left hamstring cramp at the finish. It took a lot of work by a trainer to get her ready for the finals 90 minutes later. In the finals, Felix had her characteristic poor start, but closed from fifth to third in the last 100 meters to finish in 22.59 +0.0 behind sprint doubler Kelli White 22.21 and Torii Edwards 22.45.

In the media conference after the race, Felix left open the question of whether she will enroll in the University of Southern California this fall or turn pro and train specifically for the Olympic Trials next year. "I will take everything into consideration and then decide," Felix said. She declined to give a timetable for her decision.

White, who lost to Felix in the US indoor nationals and at Mexico City, admitted that losing to a high school runner depressed her. Along with nagging injuries, it had her on the verge of quitting. But White wrote a letter to herself on her laptop and kept training. White said Felix is a great talent, and told Dick Patrick of USA Today, "I wish I had that kind of confidence and talent in high school. Even when I was in college, I was so intimidated (at nationals) I barely made the final." White has come back from worse problems than losing to a younger runner. In 1994, when she was a junior in high school, she was attacked by a teenager with a knife at a San Francisco BART rapid transit station and required 30 stitches to close wounds on her face.

Finals 

Women 200 Meter Dash
=====================================================================
    American: A 21.34  9/29/1988   Florence Griffith Joyner, World Cl
       World: W 21.34  9/29/1988   Florence Griffith-Joyner, USA
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals  Wind
=====================================================================
Finals
  1 Kelli White                  NIKE                     22.21  +0.0
  2 Torri Edwards                adidas                   22.45  +0.0
  3 Allyson Felix                unattached               22.59  +0.0
  4 LaTasha Jenkins              NIKE                     22.65  +0.0
  5 Inger Miller                 NIKE                     22.77  +0.0
  6 Crystal Cox                  North Caroli             23.11  +0.0
  7 Shaunta Pelham               NIKE                     23.32  +0.0
  8 Ebonie Floyd                 unattached               23.44  +0.0




Semis


Women 200 Meter Dash
================================================================
    American: A 21.34  9/29/1988   Florence Griffith Joyner, Wor
       World: W 21.34  9/29/1988   Florence Griffith-Joyner, USA
    Name                    Year Team                     Semis
================================================================
Heat  1   Wind: 1.8
  1 Inger Miller                 NIKE                     22.67Q
  2 Allyson Felix                unattached               22.84Q
  3 Crystal Cox                  North Caroli             23.11Q
  4 Ebonie Floyd                 unattached               23.29Q
  5 Consuella Moore              unattached               23.38
  6 Jennifer Wilson              unattached               23.66
  7 Nicole Ireland               San Diego St             23.77
  8 Donna Howard-Arnett          unattached               24.19
Heat  2   Wind: 2.0
  1 LaTasha Jenkins              NIKE                     22.56Q
  2 Kelli White                  NIKE                     22.76Q
  3 Torri Edwards                adidas                   22.80Q
  4 Shaunta Pelham               NIKE                     23.40Q
  5 Lakadron Ivery               unattached               23.59
  6 Wyllesheia Myrick            unattached               23.73
  7 Sherita King                 unattached               23.74
 -- LaJuana Lovett               SW Texas State             DNS
========================================================================
    Name                    Year Team                     Semis  Wind H#
========================================================================
Semi-Finals
  1 LaTasha Jenkins              NIKE                     22.56Q  2.0  2
  2 Inger Miller                 NIKE                     22.67Q  1.8  1
  3 Kelli White                  NIKE                     22.76Q  2.0  2
  4 Allyson Felix                unattached               22.84Q  1.8  1
  5 Torri Edwards                adidas                   22.80Q  2.0  2
  6 Crystal Cox                  North Caroli             23.11Q  1.8  1
  7 Ebonie Floyd                 unattached               23.29Q  1.8  1
  8 Shaunta Pelham               NIKE                     23.40Q  2.0  2
  9 Consuella Moore              unattached               23.38   1.8  1
 10 Lakadron Ivery               unattached               23.59   2.0  2
 11 Jennifer Wilson              unattached               23.66   1.8  1
 12 Wyllesheia Myrick            unattached               23.73   2.0  2
 13 Sherita King                 unattached               23.74   2.0  2
 14 Nicole Ireland               San Diego St             23.77   1.8  1
 15 Donna Howard-Arnett          unattached               24.19   1.8  1
 -- LaJuana Lovett               SW Texas State             DNS        2




First round


Women 200 Meter Dash
================================================================
    American: A 21.34  9/29/1988   Florence Griffith Joyner, Wor
       World: W 21.34  9/29/1988   Florence Griffith-Joyner, USA
    Name                    Year Team                   Prelims
================================================================
Heat  1   Wind: -2.1
  1 Torri Edwards                adidas                   23.49Q
  2 Kelli White                  NIKE                     23.54Q
  3 Inger Miller                 NIKE                     23.73Q
  4 Shaunta Pelham               NIKE                     24.17q
 -- Illia Miles                  unattached                 DNS
 -- Melinda Smedley              unattached                 DNS
Heat  2   Wind: -4.8
  1 Allyson Felix                unattached               23.19Q
  2 Crystal Cox                  North Caroli             23.36Q
  3 Sherita King                 unattached               23.80Q
  4 Nicole Ireland               San Diego St             24.08q
  5 Tonette Dyer                 unattached               29.06
 -- LaTasha Collander-Richar     NIKE                       DNS
 -- Rachelle Boone               Indiana                    DNS
Heat  3   Wind: -4.0
  1 LaTasha Jenkins              NIKE                     23.35Q
  2 Lakadron Ivery               unattached               24.01Q
  3 Ebonie Floyd                 unattached               24.26Q
  4 Donna Howard-Arnett          unattached               24.59q
  5 Kiamesha Otey                unattached               24.65
 -- Amber Robinson               Florida                    DNS
 -- Erica Whipple                S.Carolina                 DNS
Heat  4   Wind: -2.7
  1 Consuella Moore              unattached               24.10Q
  2 Jennifer Wilson              unattached               24.19Q
  3 LaJuana Lovett               SW Texas State           24.23Q
  4 Wyllesheia Myrick            unattached               24.28q
  5 Amandi Rhett                 Georgia Tech             24.76
 -- Aleah Williams               Texas                      DNS
 -- Muna Lee                     LSU                        DNS
========================================================================
    Name                    Year Team                   Prelims  Wind H#
========================================================================
Preliminaries
  1 Allyson Felix                unattached               23.19Q -4.8  2
  2 LaTasha Jenkins              NIKE                     23.35Q -4.0  3
  3 Torri Edwards                adidas                   23.49Q -2.1  1
  4 Consuella Moore              unattached               24.10Q -2.7  4
  5 Crystal Cox                  North Caroli             23.36Q -4.8  2
  6 Kelli White                  NIKE                     23.54Q -2.1  1
  7 Lakadron Ivery               unattached               24.01Q -4.0  3
  8 Jennifer Wilson              unattached               24.19Q -2.7  4
  9 Inger Miller                 NIKE                     23.73Q -2.1  1
 10 Sherita King                 unattached               23.80Q -4.8  2
 11 LaJuana Lovett               SW Texas State           24.23Q -2.7  4
 12 Ebonie Floyd                 unattached               24.26Q -4.0  3
 13 Nicole Ireland               San Diego St             24.08q -4.8  2
 14 Shaunta Pelham               NIKE                     24.17q -2.1  1
 15 Wyllesheia Myrick            unattached               24.28q -2.7  4
 16 Donna Howard-Arnett          unattached               24.59q -4.0  3
 17 Kiamesha Otey                unattached               24.65  -4.0  3
 18 Amandi Rhett                 Georgia Tech             24.76  -2.7  4
 19 Tonette Dyer                 unattached               29.06  -4.8  2
 -- Melinda Smedley              unattached                 DNS        1
 -- LaTasha Collander-Richar     NIKE                       DNS        2
 -- Aleah Williams               Texas                      DNS        4
 -- Muna Lee                     LSU                        DNS        4
 -- Erica Whipple                S.Carolina                 DNS        3
 -- Rachelle Boone               Indiana                    DNS        2
 -- Illia Miles                  unattached                 DNS        1
 -- Amber Robinson               Florida                    DNS        3

 

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