USC is honoring one its most accomplished alumni by naming its track and field facility after U.S. Olympic legend Allyson Felix. On Monday, the school announced that the home of Trojans track and field will now be called Allyson Felix Field.
Felix never ran track for USC because she chose to go pro right out of high school, but she began her career while attending the university. At the ceremony on Monday, Felix spoke about what the honor meant to her.
"It's such a full-circle moment," Felix said. "When you broke down why the university wanted to rename this field in my honor, it just meant so much to me because it really showed me that the university values character and integrity, and that's just rare and very special."
USC athletic director Mike Bohn said the new name for the track and field facility will serve as an example for all Trojans because of who Felix is as an athlete and a person.
"Allyson serves as an extraordinary example of what we aim to be through her humility, competitive grit, sports and business acumen, but also her kindness, compassion and heart," Bohn said. "The naming of this field isn't just to honor Allyson, but to inspire Trojans to achieve beyond the ordinary."
While at USC, Felix participated in the World Championships and Olympic games all over the globe. She made her Olympic debut as an 18-year-old in 2004, and she took home the silver medal in the 200 meters.
Felix won her first gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as part of the 4x400 meter relay team. In 2012, she cleaned up at the London Olympics by winning the gold medal in three different events.
Throughout her prolific career, Felix won seven Olympic gold medals, 14 World Championship gold medals and 31 medals overall.
