No fairytale ending but magical memories as athletics queen Allyson Felix says farewell

Not all fairytales have the perfect ending. In the final race of a career spanning two decades, with more medals than anyone else in athletics history, Allyson Felix left Hayward’s Field with just a bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay as the United States were stunned by the Dominican Republic.For a few magical moments, as Felix stormed to a 20-metre lead on the second leg and the crowd exploded with noise and love, she appeared to be rolling back the years. “I felt the love, and I felt joy running,” she said when asked about it. “And so I feel really proud tonight, and fulfilled.”

And how it showed. But Felix is 36 now, and she was eventually reined in by Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Marileidy Paulino. But the US still looked set to justify their status of 1-20 on favourites until a desperate final 15 metres of the race, when Kennedy Simon was caught and the script was ripped up.But it was mighty close. The Dominican Republic won in 3:09.82, with the Netherlands just 0.08 back after a stunning anchor leg by Femke Bol. The US, meanwhile, were third in 3:10.16.At that moment you could hear most of the air and joy being sucked out of the stadium. But Felix kept smiling, embracing her team-mates and then hugging World Athletics president Sebastian Coe as she was awarded her medal. And she was still beaming deep into the night when she spoke movingly about inspiring her three-year-old daughter Camryn, who watched on.“To be able to compete here in front of my own crowd at a world championship was something I had always wanted,” she said. “Obviously I am not in the prime of my career. But just to be able to finish it with Camryn in the stands, and to share that moment with her, means a lot.”Why isn’t Camryn with you now, she was