After retiring from professional athletics in 2022, Allyson Felix seemed to have reached the end of an extraordinary track and field career. But nearly four years after stepping away from competition, Felix announced in April 2026 that she was planning a return to the track, with her eyes set on the 2028 LA Olympics. Now 40, she hopes to compete at her sixth Olympic Games in her hometown, with plans to return to competition in 2027. While the prospect of another Olympic appearance has given her a new goal, Felix recently revealed that deciding to make a comeback was not an easy choice.

Speaking on the latest episode of the ANDMOM podcast on October 30, hosted by Skylar Diggins and Cassidy Hubbarth, Felix opened up about the guilt she initially felt about wanting to pursue another major athletic goal at this stage of her life. Asked what went into her decision to return, she explained, “It started with me just being really curious of could I?” However, that curiosity also came with an internal struggle. “I had this deep feeling of guilt because I felt at this age I should be doing kind of less instead of having this really big ambitious goal.”

Felix explained that she eventually decided to stop questioning herself, “I’m going to give myself this gift. It’s okay to do something that I want to do just because I want to do it,” she said. She described accepting that desire as freeing, especially because she is not returning to prove anything or make up for something missing from her career.

“I’ve had my Olympic experience. I feel grateful for the career I’ve had. And so none of that is the motivation. It’s just the desire to know what’s possible,” Felix added. Having achieved 11 Olympic medals, including seven gold, across five Olympic Games, she has already achieved so much in the sport, she does not see another Olympic appearance as something she needs to validate her legacy. Instead, she wants to find out what she can still accomplish at 40.

The seven-time Olympic champion also pointed out that she is not the only person around her age who still has big ambitions. She said some of her friends share the same desire to keep pursuing new goals, even as they get older. For Felix, speaking openly about those ambitions can help others feel less hesitant about wanting more from life. “And I feel like if we’re vulnerable and we share more that we want and normalize it like that, like there’s still more. Let’s do it,” she said.

She then questioned, “Why should we be coming like less when we still have so much more to accomplish.” For the mother of two, the comeback is also about discovering what remains possible rather than trying to recreate the athlete she was in her younger years. However, her road to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics comes with a different set of challenges.

Allyson Felix admits Olympic comeback at 40 will be a major challenge

Felix has openly acknowledged that she is no longer at her athletic peak. “I know, at 40, I am not at my peak. I have no illusions about that,” she told TIME in April 2026. She understands that preparing for another Olympic campaign at this age will require a different approach. Rather than following the same training methods she used in her twenties, Felix wants to explore how advancements in sports science, nutrition and recovery can help her compete at the highest level.

She is particularly interested in finding new ways to help her body recover from demanding workouts and maintain the speed and strength required for sprinting. The challenge is not just physical. Earning a place on the US Olympic team will also be difficult, as she will have to compete against a new generation of American sprinters. Felix has acknowledged that making the relay team would be “very difficult”.

She is also balancing her training with raising her two children and managing her other professional commitments. Still, she is not approaching the comeback with the expectation that everything must go perfectly. For Felix, the opportunity to test herself again is part of the reason she has decided to return.