MadameNoire Featured Video

 

Allyson Felix 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials - Day 9

Source: Andy Lyons / Getty

 

Allyson Felix will make her final sprint across the track before officially retiring at the end of the 2022 season.

On April 13, the 11-time Olympic medalist took to Instagram where she announced that her 20-year-long sprinting career would be coming to an end.

“As a little girl they called chicken legs, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I’d have a career like this,” the 36-year-old athlete wrote to her 1.1 million followers.

“I have so much gratitude for this sport that has changed my life. I have given everything I have to running and for the first time I’m not sure if I have anything left to give. I want to say goodbye and thank you to the sport and people who have helped shape me the only way I know how—with one last run,” Felix continued.

The Los Angeles native will be wrapping her historic legacy on the field with an incredible high. Felix has been competing in the Olympic Games since Athens in 2004, earning seven gold medals and 13 world championship titles along the way.

The determined sprinter broke barriers in the sports world at just 19-year-old, becoming the youngest athlete to win a championship title in 2005, and that was fresh off her Olympic silver medal win a year prior during the 200m dash in Athens. Eyes were peeled on Felix in 2008 when she drove the U.S .women’s 4x400m relay team toward a gold medal win at the Beijing Games.  Last year, the track and field GOAT secured her 11th medal while competing in the Tokyo Olympics.

 

RELATED CONTENT: Allyson Felix Is The GOAT Of Track And Field After Winning Her 11th Olympic Medal

As Felix gears up to cross the finish line one more time, the Allstar told fans that she isn’t so concerned about “the time on the clock.”

“It’s simply about joy. If you see me on the track this year I hope to share a moment, a memory, and my appreciation with you,” she explained, before adding:

“This season I’m running for women. I’m running for a better future for my daughter. I’m running for you… Here’s to my final season.

Off the field, Felix has dedicated her life to raising awareness about the pay disparities and maternal health issues that impact working women from all walks of life. In March, the decorated sprinter launched her  “No” Grant initiative in partnership with Pure Leaf and the SeekHer Foundation, which provides short-term financial support to women who want to say “no” at work. The program hopes to help women redefine their work/life boundaries.

In 2021, Felix established her mark on the sneaker world with the release of her women’s shoewear line Saysh, a sneaker made exclusively for and by women. The idea came following her split with Nike in 2019 after the company failed to provide maternity protection for the star, who had just welcomed her daughter Camryn with husband Kenneth Ferguson. Felix went on to write about her frustrations with the brand in an op-ed for the New York Times citing that negotiations were stressful during the time of her pregnancy. Felix battled through a high blood pressure disorder called Preeclampsia and was forced to undergo an emergency C-section at 32 weeks in order to protect both her life and her child’s.

Judging by Felix’s caption, it looks like fans can expect “more to come” from the star after retirement. The Olympian said she plans to share a series of announcements that will hopefully “make the world better for women.”

Congrats to the GOAT Allyson Felix!

 

RELATED CONTENT: Olympic Sprinter Allyson Felix Calls Nike ‘Beyond Disrespectful’ In Aftermath Of Maternity Protections Drama

Comment Disclaimer: Comments that contain profane or derogatory language, video links or exceed 200 words will require approval by a moderator before appearing in the comment section. XOXO-MN