ALLYSON FELIX LEFT THE TRACK WORLD BETTER THAN SHE FOUND IT, AND SHE'S NOT DONE YET

the MUHAMMAD ALI LEGACY AWARD

- MAGGIE MERTENS

EVERYTHING CHANGED for Allyson Felix when a potentially deadly diagnosis for her and her infant daughter led the baby to the NICU. It was November 2018, and Camryn had been born two months early, via emergency C-section, at just three pounds, eight ounces.

"For the first time in my entire life, track was on the back burner," Felix says. "I wasn't concerned about running my next race. I was concerned about my daughter living and for us to be able to be together as a family."

While they both survived that frightening time, Felix would never be the same. The course she'd chart from that moment would transform the track star known for always keeping her gaze focused on the lane ahead-into an activist and path-breaking entrepreneur.

Until then, Felix had preferred to let her performance on the track speak for itself. Speed that built with a hum. Legs and arms that pumped with smooth fluidity. Explosions of acceleration that quieted her competition. Then a flash of a bright smile, a wave to her adoring fans.

It had been like that since she showed up to track tryouts as a 15-year-old, basketball-loving freshman at Los Angeles Baptist High and astounded coaches with her raw speed. She was a rare breed of athlete-one that not only lived up to the early hype, but also far exceeded expectations. She won her first Olympic medal, a silver in the 200 meters, at the 2004 Games in Athens at just 18 years old. Her total career haul after retiring at 36 in July '22: a women's track and field record 11 Olympic medals (seven gold) at five consecutive Games; 10 national titles, in three different events; and 20 World Athletic Championship medals (14 gold), making her the most decorated athlete in the event's history.