At 35, more than half of which spent on the slopes at the highest level, Allyson Felix announced that her fifth Olympics would also be her last, failing to say when she would hang up the points. In the meantime, she completed her fine collection of Olympic medals with the bronze in the 400m this Friday (6 in gold, 3 in silver, 1 in bronze), to which are added the 13 gleaned (eight in gold, three in silver and two bronze) at the Worlds. An unmatched record, from 100m to 400m via relays, which gives her a place all the more unique as she continued to win as a mother, a rare occurrence in professional sport, all disciplines combined. In November 2018, Allyson Felix indeed gave birth to her daughter Camryn in complicated conditions, after only 32 weeks of pregnancy.After that, her child had to stay almost a month in neonatal care.
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
Although happy, this event was seen as the beginning of the end by Nike, its long-time supplier, whose policy she did not hesitate to criticize for the policy towards pregnant athletes, seeing that the emoluments in her contract had been reduced. 70% during her pregnancy. “
When we have children, we risk lower pay from our sponsors during and after pregnancy. This is one example that proves that the sports industry is still run by and for men,
”she wrote in a
New York Times
column
. What to bend the mark to the comma, which swore that no pregnant professional sportswoman would be more penalized financially.
I didn't expect to face challenges while giving birth ...
Allyson felix
For the first time in her career, the one who saw herself above all as a sprinter, one of whose basic principles is precisely to stay in her lane, and therefore only displayed a big smile in almost all circumstances, has gave voice. This episode “
helped me to understand what was important and to realize that I couldn't stay silent anymore. I didn't expect to face challenges giving birth ... Before, I was so focused on my performance that it was scary for me to talk about other issues. But I finally feel like I have something to add to the conversation,
”she explained to the
Washington Post.
in 2019, for his return to competition at the American selections for the Doha Worlds. If she failed to qualify for the individual events, she made the trip to Qatar and not for nothing, since she came back crowned in the women's and mixed 4x400m relays.
Proof that his legs, which soon earned him the nickname “
Chicken legs
” for their finesse, and his ample, fluid, incomparable stride, could still do wonders. Slender (1.68 m, 57 kg), it is “
deceptively fragile, because it has an exceptional weight / power ratio
”, underlines its trainer Bob Kersee. These athletic qualities, Allyson Felix, brought up in a religious atmosphere - her father Paul, a pastor of French Creole origin, teaches the New Testament - attributes them to the “
creator
”: “
my faith is the reason I run. I really feel like I have this amazing gift that God has given me, and it's about using it to the best of my ability.
". She did this when she was 18, winning the 200m silver medal at the Athens Games, setting a new junior world record. If her domination was effective at the Worlds, especially in 2007 in Osaka where she lived "
a great moment, as in a state of grace
" after her treble 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m, she had to wait for London 2012 to glean her first gold medal. Olympic individual on the track turn.
Her excellence at the highest level took her to Tokyo, after a global pandemic due to the coronavirus which forced her to adapt in her preparation and to train even in the street, for lack of an open facility, like Sylvester Stallone running up the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in The
Rockies
. “
I am used to fighting. This is what I continue to do, quite simply,
”she sums up.