TOKYO — She describes herself as “old.” She concedes she wasn’t sure she’d make it this far. There were times, though, when “making it” had nothing to do with the Olympics and everything to do with simply climbing out of her hospital bed.

No wonder Allyson Felix came to these, her last Olympics, with little fear of losing.

And it shouldn’t surprise anyone by now to learn that instead, on Friday night, she won.

Not the gold medal in the women’s 400 meters. But a bronze that might wind up taking center stage in her trophy case. It is medal No. 10, the one that put her all alone at the top of the record book.

On a humid, sticky evening filled with anticipation, Felix — the sprinter, turned mom, turned advocate, turned realist — became the most decorated female track athlete in the history of the Olympics.

The 35-year-old was beaming as she strode through the bottom of the stadium.

Felix’s 10th Olympic medal broke a tie with Jamaican sprinter Merlene Ottey, and ties Carl Lewis for most in track overall.