How motherhood empowered Allyson Felix to speak out

Allyson Felix, the Inspire Greatness Award winner at the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit this month, is the most decorated U.S. track and field athlete in Olympic history. After retiring last summer, the 11-time Olympic medalist and three-time consecutive world champion in the 200 meters is forging a new legacy through her advocacy work on Black maternal health care and pay equity. She has spoken in front of Congress about racial disparities in maternal health, and her shoe company, Saysh, offers a first of its kind maternity returns policy for women who experience a change in shoe size while pregnant. Felix talked to ESPN about adjusting to life after her illustrious track and field career and empowering the next generation of women athletes.

(Felix declined to speak about her former U.S. track and field teammate, Tori Bowie, who died last month due to complications during childbirth, but wrote an essay in Time last week about Bowie and maternal mortality.)

ON POST-RETIREMENT LIFE

It’s been a year of transition. I’ve been working really hard growing Saysh — my company and doing a lot of speaking. I’m on the IOC Athletes Commission. I’m doing things I haven’t been able to say yes to before. But there’s also the challenge of moving away from a sport I loved for so long and not competing. For most of my life, everything centered around one competition, whether that’s the Olympics or the World Championships. Not having that has been a little bit freeing but also unfamiliar. I’m working through that and showing up in different areas of my life.

I still do a lot of track workouts because that’s what I know. Sometimes I find myself going through grueling workouts and being like, ‘Oh wait, I actually don’t have to do this to myself.’ It’s a constant reminder that I can ease back into challenging my body in different ways. I’m taking tennis lessons, which have been very humbling. I’m doing…