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Allyson Felix leaves...

"a dashing impression!"

Dazzling sequence shots above courtesy of Bill Leung

By Rich Gonzalez, DyeStatCal

             These days, 23-plus seconds has been leading to days and days of national sprinting excitement! Now... it's about to take on an international flavor.

             Allyson Felix, the latest in a legion of national prep recordholders this spring, informed DyeStatCal/DyeStat on Monday that she indeed will compete in the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, England from March 14 to 16. Felix earned the right after placing a stunning second in the 200-meter final at the USATF Indoor Championships in Boston on Sunday, smashing the prep national record in the process.

             "I wanted to go (to Boston) and run well. I'm glad this showed I'm ahead of where I was last year," said said by phone. "Setting the national record was kind of in the back of my head too, so that was very nice to get."                                    

             Felix actually tied Sanya Richards' one-year-old national standard in the semifinal round on Sunday afternoon, overcoming a mediocre start to draw in the field before the finish. Her time of 23.22 equaled the prep record in also shaving .35 seconds off her two-week-old lifetime best (23.57 to finish second at the Simplot Games).

             "After the prelims, I felt pretty good," Felix shared. "I still left a bit in me, so when I tied the record, that was a neat surprise. I think it really helped me stay relaxed and loose for the final."

             Despite slicing another .08 seconds off the record in the finale, Felix indicated that it was her trademark closing speed that eventually earned her the berth to England, since her getaway at the blocks was a bit flawed. The precocious USC-bound dash talent closed well on defending national indoor champion Kelli White (a James Logan HS, CA, alum now competing for Nike) along the home straight, nabbing her a stride before the finish. Michelle Collins of Nike won in 22.84.

              Although DyeStat message board visitors wondered aloud whether Felix would venture overseas for the elite-level encounter or remain on the mainland to battle in one of the East Coast national indoor blockbusters, she declared there was never any hesitation on the decision.

              "I'm definitely going for the experience," she quickly quipped. "To get the chance to interact with all the athletes at that level really nice."

              Felix wasn't specific about any indoor goals she's courting for the world champioships, but unavoidably gushed at her excitement for the coming months. "I think I'm really on track for outdoors," she beamed. "We never train for indoors like we do for outdoors. I'd like to take a real shot at (Marion Jones') record."

              Among her targets in the crosshairs are record marks by Angela Williams and Marion Jones, which could come under serious attack at the Arcadia Invitational in mid-April. Both of those athletes hold the Arcadia meet and prep national outdoor records in the dashes, with Williams claiming the Arcadia record of 11.32 and national standard of 11.11 in the 100-meter dash and Jones owning the deuce all-time records at both Arcadia (22.87) and nationally (22.58). The competition should be fierce that evening, as it appears 9 of America's top 14 returnees have already expressed very serious intention of heading to Arcadia to compete in the 200.

               Felix will aim for victory there, aiming to avenge her defeat indoors at Simplot: "Although I lost, I knew where I was," she said after setting a lifetime best in settling for the runner-up spot to Long Beach Poly's Jasmine Lee at Simplot. "It's never fun to lose, but there's a whole lot of great athletes out there nowadays. It's exciting."

               Although Felix aims for taking down Marion's outdoor deuce records, possibly being able to challenge Williams' all-time records in the 100-meter dash carry an added specialness to it. That's because Felix counts Williams as her personal idol.

               "I really like Angela Williams," Felix stated. "She really runs fast, but I especially admire the way she handles herself and carries herself."

               Felix will attend USC in the fall, where Williams captured an unprecedented four consecutive NCAA 100-meter outdoor titles for the Trojans. In heading to Trojan-land, Felix joins older brother Wes, who currently competes as a top-level sprinter for Coach Ron Allice's powerhouse program.

                That's some "pretty dashing company!"

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