Allyson Felix unsure to double up for worlds

The reigning world 200m champion will see what toll training for both the 200m and 400m takes before deciding on whether to double up at the World Athletics Championships.

Allyson Felix, left, gets her 2011 outdoor season underway at in Doha this evening.

DOHA //Allyson Felix, the three-time reigning world 200m champion will see what toll training for both the 200m and 400m takes before deciding on whether to double up at the World Athletics Championships.

The American gets her 2011 outdoor season under way at the opening Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar this evening.

The two-time Olympic silver medallist won two trophies in last season's inaugural series, unbeaten in the 400m and with four wins out of five races in the 200m.

But she said yesterday that it was too early to decide whether she could step up and compete in the two events in Daegu, South Korea later this year.

"It's definitely something I'm considering," Felix said. "But it takes a big toll on the body. We'll see how training's progressing, see how the body's coping. There's also the nationals to go through. It's a decision I'll make later in the year."

Felix said that the year would be geared around peaking for the Daegu showpiece.

"The focus is the worlds," she said. "I'll be running less this year, and not so much of the 200 and 400m together.

Felix will, however, race the 200-400m double in the Rome leg of the Diamond League, where she will come up against Sanya Richards, her US rival, the reigning world 400m champion. "It should prove to be a good competition with Sanya," Felix said.

Turning to Doha, where she has been a multiple winner, she said: "I always feel good about being here, it's the opening meet to see where I am. I know it's going to be a strong field. It's my first open 400m of the year. I'm excited to get the individual season started."

Lolo Jones, Felix's 100m hurdling teammate, will also feature on the card at the Qatar Sports Club, hoping to put behind her a debilitating nerve injury that has ruined her indoor season. Jones has been hit by sciatic nerve problems which she admitted left her "barely able to walk", and even having to settle for second place behind Tiffany Ofili at her hometown Drake Relays meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, last weekend.