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Image by Paul Felix

Update: Since the initial publication of this article, Allyson Felix went on to compete in the Athens Olympics. She set a world junior record in the qualifying round of the 200-meter sprint and won the silver medal in the finals.

Allyson Felix is the fastest teenager on the planet, at least among the teenagers who run track. At 18, her resumé is already quite impressive. She posted the fastest time ever for a teen girl in the 200-meter dash—an astounding 22.11 seconds.

She won five titles (twice in the 200, thrice in the 100) in the hyper-competitive California high school state championships. She finished in the top three in the 200 at several world-class meets—including a first-place finish at an international event in Mexico City, where she posted that 22.11, breaking a world junior record that had stood for 23 years.

In between track meets and classes, she also was named Homecoming Queen last year at Los Angeles Baptist High School. Hers has been a charmed life, indeed.

	"God gave me this ability. My speed is definitely a gift from Him." —Allyson Felix

Her surname, Felix, is derived from a Latin term meaning "lucky" or "successful." Allyson, shy and unassuming, would gently dispute the term "lucky," opting for something like "blessed" instead. But there's no disputing her success.

And now Allyson, a freshman at the University of Southern California, is hoping to extend her successful track record to a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in August's Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

The starting blocks
It's no fluke that Allyson is such a swift young woman. Her dad, Paul, a New Testament professor at The Master's Seminary in California, ran the 100 in 9.9 seconds in high school. Her mom, Marlean, a third-grade teacher, jokes that she's a fast walker. And Allyson's older brother Wes, a junior at Southern Cal, is the Trojans' No. 1 sprinter and a former U.S. junior champ.

With that kind of DNA, Allyson was wired for speed from the start.

Just ask Jonathan Patton, her high school coach at Los Angeles Baptist. When Allyson tried out for the team as an unknown freshman, wearing floppy shorts and clunky basketball shoes, she sprinted so fast that Patton couldn't believe the numbers on his stopwatch.

He believes it now. Patton declared Allyson a world-class athlete by the age of 16. And she's not slowing down.

But Allyson says it's more than just good genes. "God gave me this ability," she says. "My speed is definitely a gift from Him, and I run for His glory. Whatever I do, He allows me to do it."

That goes for the good times, and the bad.

Fallen star
Late in her junior year in high school, Allyson suffered her first-ever injury, pulling a hamstring at the state championships (but still won both the 100 and the 200).

A few weeks later, she re-injured the hamstring at the U.S. Junior National Championships, barely missing first place while falling across the finish line in great pain. She qualified for the World Juniors that summer in Jamaica, but missed so much practice time with her injury that she lost her edge, settling for fifth place.

Despite the struggles, "She did not complain or even let anyone know about her condition," says her father. News articles said Allyson had choked, but she never griped or got defensive.

"That was an extremely hard time," Allyson says. "I had to depend on God."

Her dad says that's what matters most.

"We try to help Allyson keep things in perspective by looking at life from God's point of view," Paul Felix says. "The reality is that Allyson can get from point A to point B faster than most people, and our society has put a big emphasis on that. But that is not significant in light of eternity. So we try to remind her that God has given her this ability, and she is responsible for using it to His glory."

Allyson has clearly bought the program. "I try to keep my priorities straight," she says. "When I got injured, it was frustrating, not being able to run like I knew I could. I really had to sit back and keep going to the Lord and depending on Him."

At Southern Cal, where Allyson is majoring in elementary education, she tries "to make time every day to spend time in the Word and in prayer. I'm going to FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meetings, and I'm attending church regularly. My faith means everything to me, and in every way, my goal is to bring God the glory."

The best ever?
Allyson has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and USA Today. She was Homecoming Queen, she's got a great smile, and she's the fastest teenager on the planet. She's a marketing guru's dream come true and because of her great potential—athletically and commercially—several major sporting goods companies came courting.

Allyson and her family weighed several offers, trying to decide whether to retain her amateur status—so she could compete in college—or to take the money and run, literally. In the end, she opted for the latter, accepting a deal from shoemaker adidas that covers her college tuition and much more.

"It was a family decision that included Allyson, me, my wife, and our son Wes," says Paul. "The choice boiled down to whether Allyson would run for USC or run for a shoe company. We had to look at which option would best help Allyson achieve her goals."

One of those goals is the Olympics. Allyson and her family figured that if she ran for USC, the long track season would take its toll—just as it did a couple of years ago when she pulled her hamstring at season's end.

"That's one valuable lesson she learned," Paul says. "By the time she reached the World Championships, she wasn't able to maintain her earlier success. I attribute that to a long season. Running professionally allows her to shorten her season, focus on the major meets, and reach her goals better."

Reaching those goals begins at July's U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento. The top three finishers in each event make the national team, which will travel to Athens for the Summer Games.

Competition at the Trials will be stiff. Marion Jones, the fastest woman in the world and the reigning Olympic champ in the 200, is also aiming for a spot. And there will be several other older, more established sprinters to face.

But Allyson isn't intimidated by the big names. She's ready to make a big name for herself—maybe now, maybe later. When asked if she wants to be the fastest woman in history, Allyson does not hesitate.

"Yes," she says emphatically. "I'm always striving to be the best I can."

Editor's Note: Watch Allyson at the U.S. Olympic Trials July 16-18. NBC will televise the event.

Mark Moring is the online managing editor of music and film for ChristianityToday.com.

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