U.S. sprint star Allyson Felix to run 100m and 200m at Olympic Trials

Allyson Felix will run the 100 meters and 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials. (Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images) Allyson Felix, a silver medalist in the 200

Allyson Felix will run the 100 meters and 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials. (Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

Allyson Felix, a silver medalist in the 200 meters in the last two Olympics, will run the 100 and 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials this year, her coach told Reuters.

"It will be easier for her, as well as helping the team out, if she runs the 1 and the 2," her coach Bob Kersee said.

Many think Felix is the best in the world at 200 meters, her signature event. She won the 200 meters at the World Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2009 but took second behind Jamaica's Veronica Campbell at both the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Felix is also a medal contender -- and possibly even a gold medal contender on the right day -- in the 100 and 400 meters. Deciding the best way to balance her schedule has been a challenge throughout her career.

Last summer, Felix attempted to double in the 200 and 400 meters at the World Championships. She took second in the 400 but finished third in the 200.  She said at the time she didn't have her normal burst down the final stretch of the 200.

This year, she has focused more on speed and used the 100 meters to keep sharp in the 200. She ran a personal best in the 100 meters earlier this year and seemed to be rounding into form. But Felix struggled some in the 100 earlier this month at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York, where she finished fourth. That raised questions of whether she would reconsider what appeared to be a clear plan of racing the 100 and 200 at the Trials.

"We weren't quite prepared to run the 100 in New York, but we ran it anyway," Kersee said. "But we have had some good training since coming back."