Posted: May 26, 2006

Athletics: Illness Grounds Felix's Early Season European Schedule

By Bob Ramsak
© 2006 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved

Allyson Felix, the reigning world champion in the 200 meters, was forced to withdraw from three key upcoming meets due to illness.

"She has not withdrawn due to any injury," said the 20-year-old sprinter's manager Renaldo Nehemiah in an email to TPR. "She has a severe case of strep throat. She has lost weight and hadn't eaten in several days."

Felix, who opened her outdoor season with a personal best of 11.04 in the 100 at the Kansas Relays, was scheduled to race at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, The Netherlands, on Sunday, at the Ostrava Golden Spike Grand Prix in the Czech Republic on Tuesday, and at Oslo's Exxon Mobil Bislett Games on Friday, the kick-off of the six-meet Golden League series. Nehemiah said that Felix wanted to race, but was advised not to travel.

"She actually wanted to still run the races. But Coach [Bobby] Kersee told me that she was too sick to have effective training."

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