Saturday, August 18, 2012

Gold Medalist Allyson Felix Visits 'Scandal' Set, 'Scandal-Olympics' Ensue (Video)

Mere days after three-time gold medalist Allyson Felix name-checked ABC's Scandal during the London Olympics, the cast of the thriller brought their fastest fan to the set.

Felix name-checked the Kerry Washington drama about Washington, D.C., political fixer following a qualifying race for the 200-meter sprint and noted she prepared for the race by watching the series from showrunner Shonda Rhimes.

During her Thursday visit to the show's Hollywood set, cast members Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Jeff Perry, Katie Lowes, Joshua Malina, Guillermo Diaz, Bellamy Young, Columbus Short and Darby Stanchfield greeted the 26-year-old track star, who was as impressed by the cast as they were with her -- and her three gold medals.

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"Everybody emailed and twittered each other within milliseconds," says Perry, an avid jogger who has worked out at UCLA while Felix has been training.

Following a tour of the set, which features an Oval Office for Goldwyn's President Fitzgerald Grant and the conference room where Washington's Olivia Pope & Associates hold court for clients in trouble, the cast got into the Olympic spirit.

Dubbed the "Scandal-Olympics," co-stars Lowes, Malina, Diaz, Young and Stanchfield busted out their competitive streak -- and rapid-fire Scandal pace -- to compete in a (fitting) race to determine who was the fastest and most skilled power walker. While there's a clear gold medalist involved, the race -- seen above -- turned scandalous.

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Felix, meanwhile, tells The Hollywood Reporter that unlike Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte, she's not so sure about pursuing a Hollywood career. "I've never really had too much of an interest in it, I'm just a big fan," she says.

While Lochte has been making headlines as the next potential Bachelor, Felix says reality shows aren't really her "thing," but it's "cool" that athletes like the swimmer have the platform to decide whether or not that's a route they're interested in pursuing.

As for doing more competition-type series, like Dancing With the Stars, Felix reveals she'd "I'd definitely give it some consideration if it's the right fit for me."

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Felix becomes the latest Olympian to grab Hollywood's attention. The cast of the CW's The Vampire Diaries congratulated gymnastics medalist Gabby Douglas via a video after the cast and creators learned she was a fan of the show.

Meanwhile, Felix says she thinks silver medalist McKayla Maroney's viral Internet meme of the gymnast not being impressed with her second-place finish, is hilarious and even the surly athlete would crack a smile on the Scandal set. "I think she'd be smiling, she'd be pretty impressed," she says, offering a quick "not impressed" impersonation in the video below.

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Scandal returns for its second season on Thursday, Sept. 27 on ABC.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit

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