Since making her professional debut in 2003, Allyson Felix has been one of USA’s most successful sprinters. The 35-year-old made has a stunning 11 medals in five Olympic appearances, along with several medals across various tournaments.

In 2018, Felix gave birth to her daughter Camryn, which saw her out of action for a significant period of time. During that period, she faced several hardships which she spoke about openly. In a recent appearance, the 35-year-old mentioned how her experiences during motherhood helped her think differently.

Allyson Felix thought only on-track performance matters to people

Prior to announcing her pregnancy in 2018, Felix rarely missed an athletic meet. However, in 2018, the Olympian struggled on more than one count. Her most prominent struggle was with Nike, against whom she wrote a one-off piece on the New York Times regarding contract negotiations. Her words forced the shoe giant to introduce a new maternity policy.

Recently, Felix appeared in the Fast Company Innovation Festival. During her appearance, she spoke about how she thought on-track performances were the only thing that mattered to others. She said,?“For the longest time, I really thought that people only cared about my performance.”

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However, the 35-year-old admitted her tryst with maternity and experiences before it helped her grow as an individual. “Over the years, I?ve grown and obviously matured, and it was through my own experiences that I finally found my voice.

“Becoming a mother was probably one of the biggest ways that happened, and thinking about my daughter and the world that she?ll grow up in made me feel like, ‘Okay, I need to do this.'”

READ MORE: Allyson Felix Reveals She Started Running as a Way to Make Friends in Childhood

Felix won two medals in the Tokyo Olympics

The 35-year-old left the Japanese capital earlier this month with a gold medal and a bronze medal. This maintained her 100% record of winning at least one medal in every Olympic appearance she made since 2004.

She struck gold in the women’s 4x400m relay, while clinching bronze in the 400m event. With 11 Olympic medals to her name, she is the most decorated American track and field athlete in history.

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