"I was embarrassed to show my face" - Allyson Felix reveals that 2008 Olympics silver medal 'still hurts'

Allyson Felix recently revealed that her silver-medal win in the 200m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics still hurts her. She clocked 21.93s, finishing behind Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, who won gold with a personal best of 21.74s.

Felix, one of the most decorated track and field athletes in history, made her Olympic debut in 2004 but had to wait until the 2012 London Games to win her first individual gold medal.

In a conversation with Maverick Carter on SpringHill, the 39-year-old spoke about the most defining moment that fueled her career. She revealed that earning a silver medal in the 200m race was embarrassing for her, saying (3:00 onwards):

“To me, like a defining moment in my career. The 2008 Olympics - I was the favorite, I was expected to win. I was coming off a silver medal, and everybody thought I was going to do it. But I got another silver medal, to the same exact person and I was devastated. I was embarrassed, literally embarrassed to show my face because I thought I let everybody down and that whole thing.”

However, Allyson Felix stated that the moment led her to reassess everything, beginning from nutrition to training.

“But, looking back, it was that moment for me that made me like analyze everything I was doing. Like I thought, "Can I get better nutrition? Like my weights, our philosophy, All the things.” And so, I’m grateful it went that way because I don’t know would I had the same success if it had come so easily in that moment,” she added.

The 14-time world champion also said how the moment still affects her, stating:

“It still hurts. I see pictures from 2008, and I just want to quickly from those games... All the emotions come up. But I’ve used that; it’s fueled me through my career. So I’m grateful for it.”

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Allyson Felix opens up on missing Paris Olympics after competing in every edition since 2004

Allyson Felix. Source: Getty

Allyson Felix opened up about missing the Paris Olympics due to retirement, after competing in every edition since the 2004 Athens Games. During an interaction with Refinery29, she said:

“My first time competing in the games was 20 years ago, in Athens, and when you devote so much of yourself - your time, your focus, your sweat - to this one thing, it’s almost like you develop an internal Olympic clock that’s set to go off every four years. Part of me is still on that time. But then I get hit with the realization that this part of my life is over. The Olympics are still happening this year - I’m just not part of them, at least not in the way I used to be.”

Although Felix didn’t compete as an athlete, she was instrumental in building the family space at the Olympic Village in Paris as a member of the Athletes’ Commission appointed by the International Olympic Committee.

She has now been elected for eight years by the athletes competing at the quadrennial games to serve in the AC till the 2032 Brisbane Games.