Allyson Felix’s final race brings appreciation for the most enduring part of her legacy — her voice off the track

Allyson Felix. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images Allyson Felix is preparing for the last competitive race of her career at World Championships.

Felix is the most decorated track and field athlete of all time, but her legacy is based on her off-track work for gender and racial equality. Felix has shined a light on issues surrounding maternal leave and serves as an example to future track stars. Allyson Felix is the most decorated track and field athlete of all-time, but it is her legacy off the track that’s shining through ahead of her final competitive race.

Felix announced her plans to retire from track and field in April. On Friday, she will compete in her final World Championships, on US soil, in the mixed 4×400-meter relay. Felix has 18 world championship medals and 11 Olympic medals, but to some, her voice has been just as impressive as her accomplishments.

“This is an athlete of extraordinary bandwidth, great style,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told Insider. “Most importantly, for me, she also has an opinion. “Allyson Felix won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty ImagesIn 2019, Felix wrote an op-ed for The New York Times in which she revealed Nike told her they would reduce her pay by 70% after she gave birth to her first child. Felix wrote that she was fighting for financial protection in case she performed below-standard in the months after birth, but Nike refused. In the op-ed Felix also explained that she had to have an emergency C-section at 32 weeks because of preeclampsia, a blood pressure condition that can result in life-threatening complications for mother and child.

Felix’s article created a firestorm around Nike, which later created a new maternity policy for its sponsored athletes. Felix has continued her work off the track since. She left Nike and is now sponsored by Athleta.

She runs in Saysh sneakers, a company she founded. Saysh’s website says it sends a free pair of sneakers to customers who have become pregnant and changed shoe sizes. This year, Felix teamed up with Pampers to donate to causes that aim to achieve maternal healthcare equity, as black women face increased mortality risks during childbirth.

Felix told Insider’s Meredith Cash: “When I went through this situation, my eyes were just opened. I wanted to take action. “She also testified in front of Congress about racial disparities in maternal mortality.

Allyson Felix and Vice President Kamala Harris at White House Maternal Health Day of Action. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesFelix’s actions are now inspiring a new generation. “The way she’s fought for women, the battles she’s been through, she’s taken her experiences and made real change for women everywhere,” Abby Steiner, a 22-year-old American sprinter, told USA Today.

“It’s really inspirational. And that’s what it’s all about — the bigger picture. “Felix told The Ringer’s Lex Pryor that she was scared to speak up early in her career, believing it would negatively impact her.

“I think for the majority of my career, I was an athlete that was very scared to speak out or to have a bold opinion,” Felix said. “I just always felt that I had to: head down, train, do my work. “However, Coe would like to see more athletes follow in Felix’s footsteps, saying it would help grow the sport.

“You don’t get the opportunity to expand or expand upon your views in the sport unless you’re actually in a position to get asked about it. You’re asked about it because of your performance, but that’s not enough,” he said. “You need, alongside performance, you need promotion, and you certainly need personality.

And [Felix] has that in spades. “Coe told Insider that he has impressed upon athletes that speaking up and working with media will help them in the long run. “I do speak to the athletes a lot.

They often ask, ‘Well, what is it that the Federation, what is it World Athletics, what is it that US Track and Field can do for me?’ I often say, ‘Well, look, we will do everything we possibly can . . .

but you also have a role to play in this and your athlete representatives, your managers have to be more amenable to you doing the kind of work that is going to bring attention from what sometimes are quite short seasons. ‘”Coe was speaking to athletes’ willingness to promote themselves and their sport more widely. Felix’s work has gone well beyond that.

A Google search for “Allyson Felix” on Friday, hours ahead of her final race, prompted a graphic from the search engine on the 36-year-old holding her three-year-old daughter Camryn. Google pays tribute to Allyson Felix. Screenshot via GoogleIt also had a graphic that read, “Olympian, Mother, Advocate.

“”I hope that I’ll be remembered as a fierce competitor,” Felix told reporters ahead of World Championships. “Most importantly, I’m trying to leave the sport better than I found it, trying to support female athletes and women in general and fight for more equality. “Coe believes Felix has.

“We are very lucky that Allyson has one what she’s done in our sport,” Coe said. “Because she really has had a huge impact, particularly on giving permission, excitement, inspiration to young girls to believe that the sport is a sport for them. “Read the original article on Insider.