08/08/2021
For those of you looking for an Olympic hero, may I humbly submit Allyson Felix.
That Felix even made the 400-meter finals Friday night in Tokyo is a feat in itself. In her fifth Olympics at 35 years old, just two years removed from pregnancy complications that could have killed her or her daughter, Camryn, she lined up in the starting blocks in lane 9 (not the spot most sprinters win from) with the seventh-slowest time of the preliminary rounds. She ran within .25 seconds of her Olympic best, secured a personal bronze medal, and made history. She now has more Olympic medals than Carl Lewis, more than Usain Bolt, so Felix has more than any runner ever. Six of them are gold medals, more than any woman runner ever. She is the oldest US woman to ever win a track medal. For four consecutive Olympics, from 2008-2021, Felix won a gold medal. Unprecedented in American track history.
But her legacy is defined more by her mettle than these medals. When she became pregnant with her daughter, Nike cut her endorsement deal by 70% telling her to “know her place and just run.”
Ahem. Not cool, Nike. Not cool.
Well, Allyson Felix didn’t listen or let anyone define her place. She created a shoe brand designed by women, Saysh, and she wore her own brand, her very own shoe, in Tokyo during her history-making runs under the banner “I Know My Place.” In between creating her own company and training for the Olympics, she also testified before Congress about inequalities in maternal health and spoke to other athletes who might feel like choosing motherhood limited their career.
Felix’s legacy may be firmly tied to her athletic accomplishments, but she should also be remembered as an empowering icon who inspired girls, women and mothers around the world. Felix is grit and determination and generosity. She is a woman who does indeed “know her place” and it is wherever she chooses to go.
From Allyson Felix: “I'm not sharing this note for me. I'm sharing it for any other athletes who are defining themselves by their medal count. I'm writing this for any woman who defines her worth based on whether or not she's married or has kids. I'm writing it for anyone who thinks that the people you look up to on TV are any different than you. I get afraid just like you, but you are so much more than enough. So take off the weight of everyone else's expectations of you. Know that there is freedom on the other side of your fear. Go out there and be brave with your life because you are worthy of your dreams."
Be inspired. Erin
