'Absolute legend': Retiring track great Allyson Felix humbled by rivals' praise

As the most decorated female track athlete in the history of the Olympics, hardly a day goes by when Allyson Felix isn't reminded of her long list of accomplishments.

Introduce her by mentioning that huge haul of 11 Olympic medals and the 18 pieces of gold (mostly), silver and bronze that make her the most decorated competitor — male or female — in the history of the athletics world championships, and she's hardly fazed.

Add in her one world indoors title to make for a nice, round total of 30 career medals after two decades at the top of her sport, and she still won't even blink.

But let a fellow competitor describe the impact that the American 200- and 400-metre runner has had on both track and field and advocacy for female athletes, and that gets Felix's attention.

With Felix sitting two seats over from her, Asher-Smith — who is a decade younger than Felix — went on to describe the American's "grace" and "dignity" and the effect of seeing Felix up close when she was a youth volunteer collecting athletes' discarded warmup suits off the track at the 2012 London Olympics when Felix won three golds.

"I've been a big fan for years and years and years," Asher-Smith said. "The first time I raced Allyson in 2015 I remember thinking, `I'm a professional athlete now because I'm in a race with Allyson."'

Asked later about Asher-Smith's comments, Felix told The Associated Press that they made her "feel ancient."

"But Dina is so sweet. I feel just humbled listening to that," Felix added. "And I remember when I was in that position. And it doesn't seem like it's been that long, but it has. And it's just really special to hear words like that. And now I know that the sport is in really great hands, so I'm excited to watch them