When Allyson Felix finished her 400m final at the Tokyo Olympics, she’d done what nobody expected. She had not only won an Olympic medal after becoming a mother, but her 49.46s time was the fastest for a woman over 35. She also needed one more medal to match Carl Lewis for the most in U.S. track history and become the most decorated female Olympic track athlete, and she did just that. “This one is different,” she said after the race. That and the relay gold she earned the next day were believed to be her last Olympic appearances. But turns out, they weren’t.

That’s because in news that has stunned the track and field world, Allyson Felix has come out of retirement. And the 40-year-old icon is planning to compete at the 2028 LA Olympics, where she’ll be 42 if she ends up entering.

“So many of us have been told not to do the big, bold thing,” Felix said in an interview with TIME magazine.

“You know, at this age, I should probably be staying home and taking care of my kids, doing all that. And just, why not? Let’s flip it on its head. Let’s go after the thing. Let’s be vulnerable.”

Allyson Felix, who retired in 2022 with her final athletic performance being at the 2022 World Championships, will now return to train with her coach, Bobby Kersee, starting in October 2026.

Although, while Felix is ambitious, she knows qualifying through to the LA Games and making it past the 2028 Olympic Trials would be tough.

“I know, at 40, I am not at my peak. I have no illusions about that,” she agreed. However, it’s too good a chance for her to miss.

Regardless, Felix won’t become the oldest American Olympian (Rich Ruohonen) or even the oldest Olympian ever. So what is pulling her out of retirement?

For Felix, the lure of walking out and performing in the very city she was born in (LA) was just irresistible.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime homecoming,” Felix explained to her brother, as per the interview. “And it is the only thing powerful enough to pull me back.”

In fact, Allyson Felix’s brother, Wes, was shocked too. After all, he never expected his sister, now retired for nearly four years, would ever want to return to the track. “I felt there was a zero percent chance that’s what she was going to say,” Wes told Time.

All this took place in June 2025. Allyson Felix created and set up a presentation, outlined her reasoning, and shocked her brother.  Although now at 40 and having not trained for nearly four years, Felix’s chances of making the team are difficult, but it’s not demotivating her.

Instead, if anything, Felix has been inspired by Lindsey Vonn, Tom Brady, and LeBron James. The trio are, after all, the biggest examples of athletes redefining what’s possible. But makes this even more interesting is the fact that Allyson Felix has come out of retirement before, for one last hurrah.

Allyson Felix has come out of retirement before

The then 36-year-old had called time on her career at the end of the 2021 Olympics. Yet, she wasn’t completely done, participating in a few races in April, May and June after that. But that only came after Felix announced in April that she would be retiring at the end of the season.

Thus, her final race was technically the 400m final at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships. And the 36-year-old had already begun to treat herself like she had already retired. She eased off training and was enjoying her favorite meals when she got a call.

The person at the end of the line had only one question: would Allyson Felix come out of retirement for one more race?

“I was at Halloween’s cafe, one of my favourite cheat-meal restaurants,” Felix said, as per the Guardian in 2022.

“I was having hot wings and a root beer float, and I was just diving into that when I got a phone call. They just asked if I would be willing to come back and run a round and help the team get a position, and so I dropped the wing.”

The rest is history. Felix called her longtime coach, Bobby Kersee, started training again, and joined Team USA in Eugene. Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t quite pan out the way anyone expected, but this was not one of those moments. Instead, Felix didn’t just help out Team USA; she was part of the team as they won the women’s 4x400m relays at the World Athletics Championship.

Then, in her final ride out into the sunset, Felix sprinted her way to glory, earning a bronze in her final race, the mixed 4x400m relays.

“I felt the love,” Felix told ESPN, via People. “And I felt joy running tonight.”

But now, it’s far from over. Only this time, the stakes are far higher, the stage far bigger, and the challenge unlike anything she has faced before. And if she does pull it off at 42, Allyson Felix will make history. She’ll become the oldest woman to win a track and field medal. Only time will tell if she manages it, though.