Track and field athlete Allyson Felix says she will retire after the 2022 track and field season

Allyson Felix said Wednesday that she will compete in the 2022 track and field season and then retire.

“I want to say goodbye and thank you to the sport and the people who have helped shape me in the only way I know how – with one last run,” she said. wrote on Instagram.

Felix, the most decorated American athlete in Olympic track and field history with 11 medals, previously said that the Tokyo Olympics marked her last Olympic appearance, but she was unsure if she would compete. end of the 2022 season or not.

This year will mark the first time the World Athletics Championships will be held in the US, with Eugene, Oregon, hosting from July 15-24.

Felix’s season is expected to start no later than Penn Relaysat the end of this month.

In Wednesday’s announcement, Felix said this final season will be about fun – and empowering women. “This season, I am running for women. I am running for a better future for my daughter,” she wrote.

In 2018, Felix gave birth to a daughter, Camryn. One serious case Preeclampsia led to an emergency cesarean section and Cammy spent her first month in the NICU. Felix continued raise awareness about racial disparities in maternal mortality, testifying before Congress about her own experience. She also became a vocal advocate for better maternity protection in athlete contracts.

In October, Felix told On her turf that her long-term goals include making sure women feel empowered, supported and able to make family planning decisions without risking their sports careers .

“I always feel like I have to accomplish a lot before I can think about it,” Felix says of her decision to become a mother. “I don’t want other women to think that way. If they want to wait, I think that’s great. But if they choose to have a child in the pinnacle of their careerI think they should be able to help through that. ”

Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Felix teamed up with her sponsor Athleta and the Women’s Sports Foundation to create a “Power of She” fund to help female athletes pay for their care. children.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here