Allyson Felix was denied a golden goodbye at the World Championships after the United States took bronze behind Dominican Republic and the Netherlands in a spectacular 4x400m mixed relay in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday.

The home crowd had roared with delight as seven-times Olympic gold medallist Felix took the baton for the second leg though the 36-yearold, running in her final major championship race, appeared to tire down the stretch after a strong start.

The United States still managed to open a massive gap at the final changeover and looked well set for victory before Dominican anchor Fiordaliza Cofil reeled in Kennedy Simon down the home stretch to win gold and improve on their Tokyo silver.

“We have been training hard for this moment,” Cofil said of her battle with Simon. “Allyson Felix is a legend and I am happy to be in the final with her.”

Netherlands anchor Femke Bol produced an extraordinary effort down the home straight to come from 30m back and overtake Simon for silver, as the 2019 champions were forced to settle for bronze.

Felix embraced her teammates at the finish, 18 years after she picked up her first Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Games, as the home crowd gave the most decorated woman in the sport a warm send-off into retirement. “It was very special to be able to run in front of a home crowd for my last race,” said Felix.