Allyson Felix

Born in California, track and field Olympian Allyson Felix was raised by her elementary school teacher mother and her minister father. Felix attended Los Angeles Baptist High School in North Hills, CA, where she discovered her talents as a runner after trying out for the track team her freshman year. In 2003 Track & Field News named Felix "High School Athlete of the Year." In 2003 Felix graduated from high school, and signed a professional contract with Adidas, thus forgoing her opportunity to race at the college level. In addition to the money she was paid for her endorsement deal, Adidas paid for Felix's college tuition at the University of Southern California. At the age of 18 Felix won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, in the 200-meter race. She won another silver medal in the same event 4 years later at the Olympics in Beijing, where she also took home a gold medal for her performance in the 4x400 meter relay. At the 2012 Olympics in London Felix won three gold medals, one for the 200-meter relay, another for the 4x100 meter relay, and a third for the 4 x 400 meter relay. As of 2016 Felix had won the Jesse Owens Award, awarded by the USA Track & Field Association four times. As of 2016 Felix was slated to represent the US at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.