Sprint legend Allyson Felix opened her 2021 outdoor campaign with a rare appearance in the 100 meters after running 11.31 seconds at the GCU Antelope Invitational, hosted at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday (3).
Felix was running a competitive 100m race for the first time since 2018. The six-time Olympic gold medalist who also owns 11 world championships gold medals, including three in the 200m (2005, 2007, 2009), ran two indoor races this season, clocking a personal best of 22.59 in the 200m in Fayetteville AR, on Feb. 21, as well as running 7.28 in the 60m at the same meeting.
After finishing sixth at the 2019 U.S. trials and made the team to the Doha world championships, the 35-year-old will be hoping to return to her familiar higher-heights and secure a place on Team USA at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which is now scheduled for Japan later this summer.
Meanwhile, NCAA indoor mile champion Sage Hurta from the University of Colorado won the women’s 800m with a new personal best time of 2:00.62.
Hurta got home ahead of Helen Schlachtenhaufen who also ran a personal best for second place at 2:01.22 with Melanie Loff grabbing third with a career-best time of 2:04.74.
American Leah Falland set a new world-lead time of 9:44.73 on her way to winning the women’s 3000m Steeplechase race in dominating fashion. Falland won the race comfortably ahead of On Athletics Club teammate Emily Oren who ran 10:16.41 for the runner-up spot.
World silver medalist over the 400m hurdles Sydney McLaughlin ran a personal-best 13.03 second for first-place in the women’s 100m hurdles. The 22-year-old was running the event for only the second time, following her rare appearance in 2015 when she clocked 13.34 as a high school athlete.
It was the second outing this season for McLaughlin, the 2015 World Youth 400m hurdles champion, following her appearance indoors in the 60m hurdles at Staten Island in New York on Feb. 13.
