United States track and field star Allyson Felix was named to her ninth consecutive World Championships team on Monday as the U.S. unveiled a powerful squad for this month’s athletics showpiece in Doha.
Felix, 33, was selected as part of the U.S. team’s relay pool after failing to qualify for an individual 400m berth at the trials in Des Moines, Iowa, in July.
It means Felix has the chance to add to her astonishing collection of 11 World Championship gold medals, won in individual and relay events between 2005 and 2017. Felix, who first appeared in the 2003 World Championships as a teenage prodigy, hit the comeback trail this season after the birth of her daughter in November last year. After her sixth place finish in the 400m final at the trials, which also served as the U.S. championships, at Drake University, Felix said she would only travel to Qatar for the World Championships on merit.
“If I feel like I’m in good form to be able to help the team, then yes (I’ll go),” the six-time Olympic gold medalist said.
Felix is part of a 141-strong U.S. team for Doha that contains eight reigning world champions and 13 Rio Olympic gold medalists.
Reigning world champions Tori Bowie, Kori Carter, Emma Coburn, Phyllis Francis, Justin Gatlin, Sam Kendricks, Brittany Reese and Christian Taylor all received byes into the championships which take place from September 27 to October 6.
This season’s Diamond League champions Noah Lyles (200m), Ajee Wilson (800m) and Michael Norman (400m) also received byes.
Meanwhile 100m sprinter Christian Coleman is included in the squad after he recently escaped a drug ban on a technicality.
Coleman risked a suspension after drug-testers were unable to locate him on three separate occasions in a 12-month period.
However the charges against him were withdrawn because of a technicality on September 2 after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) received guidance on how the 12-month window should be calculated.
