Allyson Felix, 2012 Olympic champion, reflects on qualifying to her fifth Games and her first as mother. (0:50).Felix is proud to show that motherhood doesn't have to be the end for an athlete (0:50).Allyson Felix placed third in the 400m Friday to win her 10th career gold and become the most decorated woman in Olympic track history.Felix, 35, is a veteran of American track and fields and was the first to start in the outside lane. She beat Stephenie Ann McPherson from Jamaica by 0.15 seconds to take third place.Shaunae Miller -Uibo won in 48.36 seconds, beating all the field to defend her Olympic gold medal from Rio de Janeiro. It was far less dramatic than 2016 when Miller-Uibo dived to the finish line for the gold.Marileidy Paulino (49.20), Dominican Republic, won silver ahead Felix (49.46).Felix's 10th Olympic gold broke the tie with Merlene Ottey, a Jamaican runner, and matches Carl Lewis who won 10 medals. Lewis was also the most decorated U.S. track athlete.If the U.S. places Felix in the final of the 4x400 relay, Felix could surpass Lewis. After her bronze-winning run, Lewis tweeted Felix his admiration.Congratulations @allysonfelix 35 never looked so good. Amazing career. Let's get on with the relay. Carl Lewis (@Carl_Lewis), August 6, 2021Felix's victory comes almost three years after Felix was instrumental in promoting a discussion about how women are treated in track and in sports generally. Nike wrote in pay cuts to women's contracts for those who became pregnant. Felix cut all ties with them. Felix had a child in 2018.This is the first Olympic bronze medal since the 2004 Athens Games. She had previously won six gold medals and three silver.Felix might have felt disappointed in third place in the past -- well-known are the photos of her crying in the stadium's recesses after losing in Athens or Beijing -- but this time it was all good.Felix spoke candidly about her struggle to recover from a difficult pregnancy which led to an emergency C section and put her life and that of her baby in danger.She spoke of the pressure she felt to quickly return, even though her body wasn’t responding as it used to.She also conquered one of her greatest hurdles and left behind her private image to become a spokesperson for something bigger.She spoke out about the topic that has been filtered through the Tokyo Olympics: the pressure to win.Felix wrote a touching essay on Instagram hours before the race: "When I line-up for a race I'm usually afraid." "I don't fear losing. I lose more than I win. It's just life, and that's the way it should be.She acknowledged that it was quite an achievement to get this far after a semifinal heat, in which she had been forced to run hard to reach the medal race. She chuckled that she isn't as young as she used be. She was not able to express the fear that she may walk away with no medal in her last individual Olympic race.After her semifinals win, she was relegated to Lane 9 -- the far outside -- where you can't see any runners until reaching home stretch. McPherson was third, but Felix refused to push herself too fast.Felix won the title, and then she fell to the ground smiling wide for third place. This result left her alone in the records books.This report was contributed by The Associated Press.
