Felix also shines next to the train: She is the fastest feminist in the world


Allyson Felix is ​​not the first to cross the finish line in this 400 meter final. She doesn’t win her seventh Olympic gold medal. But the US-American wins so much more besides bronze: the fight against all odds, the fight for millions of women.

In this final everything speaks against Allyson Felix. At 35 years of age, the American is the oldest in the 400 meter final. In the preliminary rounds, only one of the eight women who made it into the final ran slower than the woman from California. Besides her teammate Quanera Hayes, she is the only mother, their children were both born in 2018. And Felix does not wear any of the much hyped super shoes that are even cited as a reason for the fable world records over 400 meter hurdles for women and men.

But in the end it is Felix who wins bronze behind the highly popular Shaunee Miller-Uibo from the Bahamas and Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic. The 35-year-old prevailed on the last 20 meters in a close duel against the Jamaican Stephenie Ann McPherson by 15 hundredths. Against all odds, with all their will, their belief in themselves, their pride – in their own spikes. Saysh is the name of the company she founded with her brother Wes. Not because they both believed they could do better than Nike and Co., but because these shoes are a statement. Your own way of protesting, fighting – against Nike.

Because the sporting goods manufacturer, whose clothes Felix wears in Tokyo, has to wear because Nike provides the clothes of the USA, it has messed with the sprinter. The company has been a sponsor of Felix for many years, together they even develop a running shoe from the 3D printer, the result will find its way onto the tartan track at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Felix won silver in them in the individual as well as gold in the 4×400 and 4×100 meter relay. But then she becomes a mother two years later. Felix is ​​33 years old there, she has won everything, really everything. Six Olympic gold, 13 world titles and much more. The birth of her daughter Camryn should not be the end of her career.

A struggle for survival for mother and daughter

It’s the toughest time of your life. One that divides everything into a before and an after. She suffers from pregnancy poisoning, Camryn has to be brought into the world by emergency caesarean section in the 32nd week of pregnancy. Mother and daughter fight for their lives. Camryn weighs only 1.7 kilograms and is connected to machines in the premature baby ward. Felix himself is also in the hospital for four weeks. The young mother then says that she cannot forget the screams of other women, that at the time she did not know whether she will ever return. Both survive, but it’s not just this drama that makes the athlete grow.

It’s also what Nike dared to do before. When Felix announced that he was pregnant, the company offered her a new contract – with 70 percent less salary. In addition, she should be internationally successful again as quickly as possible – despite motherhood and the dramatic struggle for survival. The collaboration ends, Felix clears her anger. She is said to be involved in a Nike campaign for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Not with Felix: “I can’t sit here and say nothing when I’m asked to be part of this campaign that tells little girls they can do anything. And I am not supported in having my own child.”

In May 2019, she substantiated her criticism in an article for the “New York Times”: “When we have children, we risk losing wages from our sponsors during pregnancy and afterwards. It is an example in a sports industry that is still mostly supported by Made for men and for men. ” It is no longer just the fight for yourself, but the fight for women’s rights. Maternity Protection? Out of the question for Nike. “If I, as one of their most marketed female athletes, don’t get this, who will?” When the American middle-distance runner Alysia Montano also made the grievances public – and even competed in competitions with a clear pregnancy bump – Nike changed its rules.

“You are so much more than enough”

Felix has already turned away. If she does not officially start for the USA, she wears jerseys and pants by Athleta. This brand belonging to the GAP group is dedicated to women. Athleta’s policy: Images of women advertised by the company will not be processed. They show bodies as they are. Super gymnast Simone Biles has also switched from Nike to Athleta. It’s about self-confidence, self-determination, about empowering other women. To show that it is perfectly okay, sufficient, and good who you are.

A few hours before the final, Felix writes a long post on Instagram: “I am not sharing this message for myself. I am writing it for all other athletes who define themselves by their number of medals. I write this for all women who define their worth according to them, whether they’re married or have kids, I’m writing for anyone who thinks the people you look up to on TV are different from you So take off the burden of expectations everyone else has of you. Know that on the other side of your fear is freedom. Get out there and be brave with your life because you are worthy of your dreams. “

Allyson Felix is ​​a role model for so many. She has won more medals than any other runner. She is playing her fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo. The routes have become longer over the years, from the 200 meters they increasingly change over the years to the 400 meters, the route that is no longer so much about explosiveness, but about endurance and stamina, perseverance and overcoming inner ones Resistances. Felix is ​​not the tallest at 1.68 meters, but her expansive running stride is always a delight. Elegant, almost floating like no other.

Medals? Not that important anymore

It’s the step that takes her to bronze in Tokyo. A win for Felix. In this run it is subject to Miller-Uibo (48.36) with 49.46 seconds like 2016 – and this time clearly with 1.1 seconds and not by seven hundredths as five years ago – but under completely different conditions. Felix didn’t play against Miller-Uibo, she fought for herself and for many other women. She won bronze – not lost gold or silver. “I have the feeling that I have moved away from all the other games. This time it’s just different,” said Felix after the race, according to ESPN. She could still win gold in Tokyo – in the 4×400 meter relay. As always at her previous four Olympic Games. The USA dominates this competition, and Felix could get gold number seven if the relays hit the track at 2:30 p.m. With ten medals, she is already the most successful athlete of all time and has drawn level with her great compatriot Carl Lewis.

For Felix it will only be of secondary importance: “Sometimes it sounds like a cliché, but it’s really about more than just running out there. It’s not so much about winning more medals. The most important thing for me me was to come back. “

To come back against all odds. In their own shoes. Just for yourself. For your daughter Camryn. And for millions of women.

.