With Rio schedule change, Allyson Felix seeks 200-400 double

NEW YORK — If all goes according to plan, Allyson Felix will run a semifinal of the 400 meters around 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 14.

“Just happy for the opportunity to go for it, even though it’s going to be really challenging,” Felix said Thursday.

“With the 1-2 double, my start is not great; that’s always posed a huge challenge for me,” said Felix, who also has won three relay Olympic gold medals.

[...] that she finally earned that elusive Olympic gold medal in the 200.

Felix attempted the longer double at the 2011 world championships and won silver in the 400.

[...] in the 200 final, the fatigue showed and she faded to third, snapping the streak of world titles at three.

The 400 may be her newest challenge, but a first Olympic gold medal in it isn’t Felix’s main goal.

Practices now seek to replicate the demands of the overlapping schedule in Rio.

[...] when she got a call from her brother saying the IAAF was going to change the order of events, the chance to make history felt that much more tangible.