Allyson Felix, a world-renowned sprinter, first gained popularity as an athlete in 2003 when she finished second in the 200m at the US trials, qualifying for the World Championships. Decades later, she ends the 4x400m mixed relay, with the bronze medal.
“It was a night I will cherish. I’ve had such good memories,” Felix said. “I know it is time and these guys will carry it on into the future. I am at peace stepping into this next stage and have tremendous gratitude for this sport.”
Felix had multiple accomplishments throughout her career. She has won more Olympic medals than any other American track and field athlete, seven of them gold. Furthermore, she has won more World Championship medals than anyone else— 19 across five events, 13 of them gold as well.
Despite being a famous athlete, Felix also plays an important role in women’s rights as well as black maternal rights. In November of 2018, she gave birth to her daughter Camryn prematurely after discovering that she had pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia can lead to fatalities in both the mother and the child. It is very prevalent among black women and Felix’s experience with it inspired her to raise awareness about it.
She spoke to Congress saying, “After enduring the two most terrifying days of my life, I learned my story was not so uncommon. There were others like me, just like me… black like me, healthy like me and doing their best, just like me. And they faced death like me, too. We need to provide women of color with more support during their pregnancies. There’s a level of racial bias within our healthcare system that is troubling and will be difficult to tackle, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.”
Felix is also an activist for women’s rights. In May 2019, she wrote that one of her sponsors, Nike, wanted to pay her 70% less since her first child.
“If we have children, we risk pay cuts from our sponsors during pregnancy and afterward. It’s one
example of a sports industry where the rules are still mostly made for and by men,” she said confidently.
Because she spoke about this issue, Nike promised not to apply performance-related salary reductions for 18 consecutive months, after giving birth.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658070756181x712441272242676500/Allyson%20Felix_%20Five%20reasons%20the%20sprinter%20will%20forever%20be%20a%20legend%20-%20BBC%20Sport.pdf
“It was a night I will cherish. I’ve had such good memories,” Felix said. “I know it is time and these guys will carry it on into the future. I am at peace stepping into this next stage and have tremendous gratitude for this sport.”
Felix had multiple accomplishments throughout her career. She has won more Olympic medals than any other American track and field athlete, seven of them gold. Furthermore, she has won more World Championship medals than anyone else— 19 across five events, 13 of them gold as well.
Despite being a famous athlete, Felix also plays an important role in women’s rights as well as black maternal rights. In November of 2018, she gave birth to her daughter Camryn prematurely after discovering that she had pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia can lead to fatalities in both the mother and the child. It is very prevalent among black women and Felix’s experience with it inspired her to raise awareness about it.
She spoke to Congress saying, “After enduring the two most terrifying days of my life, I learned my story was not so uncommon. There were others like me, just like me… black like me, healthy like me and doing their best, just like me. And they faced death like me, too. We need to provide women of color with more support during their pregnancies. There’s a level of racial bias within our healthcare system that is troubling and will be difficult to tackle, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.”
Felix is also an activist for women’s rights. In May 2019, she wrote that one of her sponsors, Nike, wanted to pay her 70% less since her first child.
“If we have children, we risk pay cuts from our sponsors during pregnancy and afterward. It’s one
example of a sports industry where the rules are still mostly made for and by men,” she said confidently.
Because she spoke about this issue, Nike promised not to apply performance-related salary reductions for 18 consecutive months, after giving birth.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658070756181x712441272242676500/Allyson%20Felix_%20Five%20reasons%20the%20sprinter%20will%20forever%20be%20a%20legend%20-%20BBC%20Sport.pdf
