(Reuters) – Six-times Olympic champion Allyson Felix will continue her comeback after giving birth last year by competing in the 400 metres at next month’s USA-Europe meeting in Minsk, USA Track and Field said on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Jul 26, 2019; Des Moines, IA, USA; Allyson Felix (left) and Brionna Thomas run in a women’s 400m semifinal during the USATF Championships at Drake Stadium. Felix finished third in 51.45 to advance to the final in her first competition since giving birth to her daughter Camryn Ferguson on Nov. 28, 2018. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Rio Olympic gold medallists Michelle Carter and Brianna McNeal and four-times world champion Brittney Reese also are headed to the Sept. 9-10 dual meeting.
The men’s team will include current U.S. champions Donald Scott (triple jump), Craig Engels (1,500m), Hillary Bor (3,000m steeplechase), Jeron Robinson (high jump), Sam Mattis (discus), Conor McCullough (hammer throw) and 100m runner-up Mike Rodgers.
Many top U.S. athletes, including sprinters Noah Lyles and Justin Gatlin, pole vaulters Sam Kendricks and Sandi Morris and Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, are skipping the meeting to prepare for the Sept. 27-Oct. 6 world championships in Doha.
Felix, 33, returned to competition for the first time in 13 months at July’s U.S. championships after daughter Camryn was delievered through an emergency caesarean section in November, 32 weeks into her pregnancy.
She finished sixth in the 400m finals.
In addition to the USA-Europe meeting, Felix will compete in the 400m at Zagreb on Sept 3.
America’s most decorated female athlete, Felix also has a spot on the U.S. 4x400m relay pool for the world championships but has not announced whether she will accept it.
Her goal is to prepare for next year’s Olympics, which would be her fifth.
“I want to be back in the Olympics,” Felix said in July. “I want them more than anything. I want to go out on my terms.”
Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris
