Allyson Felix knew this Olympic Games would be memorable. Even before the champion earned her 10th and 11th medals in Tokyo, she had announced this Olympics would be her last. But don’t expect Felix to disappear anytime soon.
“The Tokyo Games really was about so much more than just what was happening on the track,” Felix tells SELF a few days after arriving home from Tokyo, where she earned bronze in the 400 meters and gold in the 4×400-meter relay. “It was about representing for women and for mothers.”
For the past several years, representing for mothers has become a central part of Felix’s life, especially following the birth of her daughter, Camryn, who is now 2. She has honed her voice as an advocate, fighting to reduce Black maternal mortality in the U.S., and for maternity protections for female runners, subsequently inspiring change in the running industry. She’s also started her very own footwear company, Saysh, which she’s described to SELF previously as built “for women by women.” The company debuted about one month before the Games kicked off, and Felix made history by racing in spikes she helped design, marking the first time a track athlete raced in their own brand of shoe, according to Women’s Running.
Now, officially retired from the Olympics—but not from her sport entirely—the most decorated track star in U.S. history sat down with SELF to discuss her advocacy plans for the future and how she wants to be remembered. Keep reading for five pieces of advice we took away from the conversation.
1. Your experiences can shape your voice in unexpected ways.
Over the past few years, Felix has experienced her share of adversity. But it’s those experiences, she says, that have led her to a pivotal stage: “finding my voice,” she says.
Back in 2018, Felix gave birth to Camryn by emergency C-section when she was 32 weeks pregnant because of severe preeclampsia. Afterward, her daughter spent weeks in neonatal intensive care.
“Becoming a mother really gave me that courage to be able to speak up and speak out, to just really passionately feel all of those things,” Felix says. “I definitely had to evolve and get to this place, but I’m feeling really grateful that I did arrive, and that I have been able to use my voice on things that I feel are important.”
Felix ultimately became an advocate for reducing Black maternal mortality. In partnership with the March of Dimes, she testified in front of Congress in 2019 about her birth experience, with the goal of raising awareness about the fact that Black pregnant people die in childbirth and postpartum at an alarming rate in the United States. Then in March of this year, she joined the Hear Her campaign sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to bring attention to potentially urgent warning signs during pregnancy.
Felix’s pregnancy also sparked her to advocate for mothers in sport too. Felix was training for the 2019 World Championships and negotiating a renewal of her professional contract with Nike when she faced what she described as a lack of support from her then primary sponsor. In May of that year, Felix penned a powerful opinion piece in The New York Times where she shared that she was unable to secure maternity protections from the footwear company.
After months of public outcry and a congressional inquiry, Nike announced a new maternity policy for all sponsored athletes. Several other apparel companies also added maternity protections for their athletes too.
Following her split with Nike, Felix signed on as Athleta’s first sponsored athlete, seeking a new company that she says supported her as a person—“I’m more than an athlete,” she told SELF previously. In June, Felix and Athleta partnered with the Women’s Sports Foundation to create a childcare fund to help athletes who are mothers. So far, they’ve committed $200,000 to professional athlete moms, which helps cover things like childcare costs when they travel to competitions.
But Felix wants to inspire women who aren’t professional athletes, too, and she believes the launch of her lifestyle shoe company, Saysh, can help do that. As she told SELF in June, Felix hopes the brand—which also includes membership to an online community to foster connection—becomes an extension of her legacy beyond her historic medal count. As she told SELF previously, she wants to be remembered “as someone who fought for women and tried to create that change.”
2. Manage expectations and give yourself some grace.
In managing her busy schedule, Felix admits that she doesn’t have it all figured out. Some days, she feels like she’s thriving in her business and falling short at home or vice versa, but she aims to keep the demands of both areas in perspective.
“It’s just really leaning into the idea that it’s okay not to be okay,” Felix says. “I’ve had to ask for help, and for me, that’s something that’s definitely challenging.”
In order to keep things going smoothly, Felix says she’s been focusing on trying her best to find a schedule that works for her and her family, and understanding that “it won’t always be this hectic.”
By keeping expectations in check, Felix is able to spend more time on advocacy work and growing her new company. After announcing earlier this year that Tokyo would be her last Olympics, Felix is excited to take on the next phase of her career, which she says will involve growing Saysh. She’s also a Team Bridgestone ambassador—a roster of 75 athletes who are receiving financial support and access to the tire and rubber manufacturer’s services as they pursue their Olympic and Paralympic dreams—and will be mentoring athletes as part of its “Chase Your Dream” program, which is donating $125,000 to adaptive sports organizations.
“I have a lot of friends who are adaptive athletes, and I understand how big that investment is for other athletes to be able to have access and to help with training and programs,” Felix says. “I’m excited to join events and mentor some of these athletes, and also with the Paralympics coming up, to cheer them on.”
3. Maintain gratitude in the process.
When it comes to factors that have helped her stay focused on achieving her sports goals, Felix pinpoints discipline, “not cutting corners,” and maintaining character and integrity. Knowing that those goals can take years to attain, she’s learned the importance of patience—and the ability to find joy in the day-to-day process.
“It’s the journey that is the gift, and that’s the special part,” Felix says. “I think the more that I embrace that, it helps me to accomplish other goals.”
That strategy became critical during the pandemic last year when COVID-19 postponed most major sports events, including the Tokyo Games. During the onset of the outbreak, Felix started a gratitude journal to focus on the positive elements of her life (her family’s health, for example) during a challenging period.
“I kept it up to start my day off with things that I’m grateful for,” Felix says. “Sometimes I feel like when you’re trying to accomplish some of these goals that are years down the line, it can feel overwhelming. And so for me, it’s just a nice way to be intentional and to show gratitude.”
4. Lean on your support system.
Looking back on her accomplishments on and off the track, Felix says she couldn’t do any of it without her support system.
“[Running is] seen as such an individual sport, and you walk out onto the track alone, but there is this team of people who helped me arrive there, and helped me have that opportunity, and I’m so grateful for them,” she says.
Felix’s support system, especially her parents, husband, and Camryn, continued to uplift her while she competed at the Tokyo Games under strict COVID-19 protocols. Felix’s family couldn’t be there to watch her race in person, but they kept in constant contact via phone calls, texts, and FaceTime, which Felix describes as a welcomed distraction from the social distancing regulations athletes had to follow in the Olympic village.
“There were a lot of challenging moments [in Tokyo], and I feel like [my family] really spoke life into me,” she says.
Despite the 13-hour time difference, Felix says Camryn stayed up to watch her race several times, but fell asleep during her gold medal relay, an adorable moment that was captured and shared in the family’s group text. On August 9, Felix posted a heartwarming video of her reuniting with Camryn back home in Southern California.
5. Fine-tune your motivation.
As a mother, Felix says Camryn has become her biggest motivation—and she aims to set a positive example for her daughter.
“Being a mom and wanting to be a good role model has really made my motivation different from just wanting to win medals,” she says. “It’s wanting to show that when you give your all, you can be proud of that regardless of the outcome.”
She also draws inspiration by connecting with fellow moms who have had similar experiences; her influence was particularly strong in Tokyo among the other athletes. According to The New York Times, the Jamaican women’s 4×100-meter relay quartet hugged her after the team won gold, and 1500-meter champion Faith Kipyegon stopped Felix for a photo she later posted on Instagram. “Mothers are strong!” the Kenyan athlete wrote in the caption.
Whether it’s advocating for mothers in front of Congress or creating a shoe line that celebrates women and allows them to foster community together, Felix ultimately wants to spend each day making progress toward greater equality in a world where women have been often overlooked and undervalued, she says.
“I feel like my story is so powerful, but it represents so many other stories,” she says. “That’s why it’s so important for me to really be able to express that, to let women know that they’re enough and they’re absolutely worthy.”
Related:
- 14 Best Moments of the 2020 Olympics That Show the Grit, Power, and Passion of Sport
- Allyson Felix on Her New Lifestyle Shoe Company and Training for Her First Olympic Games as a Mom
- Allyson Felix Wants to Save Black Mothers