American track star Allyson Felix on Friday earned a record breaking 10th Olympic medal – making her the most decorated woman in track and field history – and tying her with track legend Carl Lewis for the most Olympic medals ever by a U.S. athlete in the sport.
Felix, who is 35 years old, reached the milestone by finishing third in the 400m final – her last individual Olympic race.
After the race, Lewis tweeted (quote): “Congratulations @allysonfelix. 35 never looked so good. What an amazing career and inspiration.”
And Felix still has a chance for more.
She can be selected for Saturday’s 4x400m relay final, giving her the chance to break Lewis’ American medal record.
Felix – who started her Olympic career as a teenager – is only the third track and field athlete to win a medal at five different Games.
But her biggest challenge came off the track when, in 2018, she gave birth to her daughter via an emergency C-section after medical complications required the baby to be born at 32 weeks.
Felix said the “biggest thing” for her this year was not winning more medals – but making a comeback at all.