Allyson Felix Proves Motherhood Isn’t Separate From Sport
At 35-years-old and with six Olympic gold medals to her name, as well as three silver, you’d think Felix would be primed for retirement, that her legacy has already been forged in the sport. But to retire now would be unlike Felix, because you have to remember that this is a woman who fights for all she believes in and as a new mum, much of that stems around being a role model for her child. As Felix explained in an interview with the New York Times, “It’s not just about me running fast. It is about doing very specific things – advocating for women – or seeing how this career makes sense beyond ‘I need more medals.’ Because I don’t.”
She’s the most decorated US athlete of her time but in November of 2018, Allyson Felix had the race of her life: childbirth. Pregnant with her first child, Felix was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia at her routine 32-week check-in. She was told by doctors that if they didn’t act now, it could kill her and her child and so the next day, an emergency C-section was scheduled. Camryn was born, weighing just 3lbs 7oz (approx. 1.5kgs) and 16 inches head to toe. The next month, Camryn stayed int he neonatal intensive care unit, fighting for her life. For anyone to go through such a thing would be traumatic, but for a woman who has made a career of being an athlete, for keeping her body in the best shape so as to continue to perform at her physical peak, the impact of such a thing can’t be underestimated. Felix had her skin, abdomen and uterus cut open, her stomach muscles were separated and her baby was pulled out of her. For five weeks, the new mother couldn’t walk.
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Not one to give up or take the easy road, Felix did all she could to return to the track and in just three months after the birth, she was back training. By October, she won her 12th and 13th world championship gold medals in Doha. As she said in an interview, “Society tells us that you have a child, and your best moments are behind you but that’s absolutely not the case. I’m a representation of that.”
In returning to sport as a new mother, Felix became an advocate for female athletes everywhere. She took on her own sponsor – Nike – by calling out the way they treat their female athletes. In doing so, it was revealed that the sportswear giant had refused Felix a contractual guarantee that they wouldn’t punish her financially if her performances dipped int he months either side of the birth. Testimony from Nike teammates Kara Goucher and Alysia Mantano led to a congressional inquiry which then forced Nike to bring in a new maternity policy for all its athletes. Even so, Felix found herself a new sponsor.
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But even outside of sport, Felix has been a fierce champion for women. After researching more about pre-eclampsia, she discovered that the US has the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the developed world, and that black women are almost four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, regardless of income, education and geographic location. It was a shocking revelation, one that Felix read with great urgency. And so she testified about these problems in front of the US House Committee on Ways and means hearing on racial disparities in maternal health mortality. “My hope is that by sharing my experience with you it will continue a conversation that needs much more attention and support,” said Felix.
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Now, with Tokyo just weeks away, Felix is continuing to champion causes greater than her own. In the recent Olympic qualifier, Felix was the only woman in the field in her 30s. Most said it couldn’t be done, that her Olympic dreams were merely a pipe dream. But over the last 50m of that qualifying race, Felix went from sixth to fifth to eventually finish second. She qualified for Tokyo.
Whether she wins or loses at the Tokyo Games seems redundant, simply making a fifth Games after all she’s been through is remarkable. But, should Felix win one more medal in Tokyo, she’ll come to equal Carl Lewis’s all-time record for an athlete from the US. Still, as Felix says herself, placing on the podium is a mere afterthought. “You do things with character, integrity, and you don’t give up, whether it’s winning or losing, no matter the outcome.”
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