By: Andrea Yan
Earlier this year, in April, track star Allyson Felix announced her retirement. She has been a part of the international track world for almost two decades, and the sport will be drastically different without her.
She is considered to be the GOAT of sprinting. She is the most decorated Olympic American track athlete with 11 medals, 7 of them gold. She is also the most decorated World Championship athlete of all time with 19 medals, 13 of them gold.
She fights for black maternal rights. Her daughter was born eight weeks premature due to the fact that Felix had pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening disease to both her and the baby. This motivated her to speak in front of US Congress in 2019 about decreasing the racial bias in the healthcare system. She said that “we need to provide women of colour with more support during their pregnancies. There’s a level of racial bias within out healthcare system that is troubling and will be difficult to tackle, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.”
She is a voice for women. She uses her platforms to promote women’s rights. She wrote an article for the New York Times about Nike paying her 70% less after she had her daughter, Camryn. Felix then started her own footwear company, Saysh, after reneging on her contract with Nike. Nike later changed its policy to where there would be no salary reductions for 18 months before the due date of pregnant athletes. She said “I’m trying to leave the sport better than I found it, trying to support female athlete and women in general and fight for more equality.”
She defies all odds. After her pre-eclampsia, she doubted whether or not she would be able to get back to the level of running needed to compete at the international level. However, less than a year after the birth of Camryn, she won two gold medals in the World Championships, becoming the most decorated World Championship track athlete of all time.
She has been in the sport for almost two decades. She has made a name for herself, and her two-decade legacy will never be forgotten. Allyson Felix’s legacy has as much to do with her accomplishments out of the track as well as on it. With her last race being run this week, the track world will miss her, because it will never the same again.
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