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But after the pressure of competing in her fifth and final Games
- and all of the expectations that came with them - Felix told
Reuters the quick pivot to compete in Saturday's Prefontaine
Classic is hardly a burden.
"For me it's a lot of fun," said Felix, who will race in her
favourite event - the 200 metres - at Eugene, Orgeon's Hayward
Field, where she made a tearful farewell appearance at her final
U.S. team trials earlier this summer.
"I really just want to be able to compete again and see the fans
and do that. I think that the weight of trials and what that all
means, I think that was just a bit heavier."
For the 11-time Olympic medallist and 13-time World Champion, a
bit of fun is long overdue.
After giving birth to her daughter, Camryn, via an emergency
C-section in 2018, she became an advocate for working mothers,
penning an opinion piece in the New York Times in which she said
she faced pay cuts from sponsors including Nike after having her
child.
"Becoming a mother inspired me in a whole new way, but also, you
know, when I spoke out and hearing from women all across
industries (who had) just a shared experience," said Felix.
"Knowing your story is not done, that you still have so much
more to offer. I felt like I carried that with me to Tokyo."
In Tokyo, she was wearing shoes from her own "Saysh" line,
launched this year.
"To build Saysh during a pandemic was really challenging," said
Felix. "It was my proudest moment at the Olympics to be able to
compete in my own shoes."
The challenges of the pandemic extended onto the track as well.
Like other athletes, Felix had a gruelling, year-long wait for
Tokyo, training under COVID-19 restrictions and undergoing
testing detailed in the mini-documentary series "BD On
Location."
She was tested for COVID-19 so many times that she lost count.
"My daughter, she's taken a number of tests as well, just with
things that she's done and it's just so interesting how we
adapt," said Felix. "I saw her the other day, she was giving her
doll a COVID test."
As for her post-competition life, she is ready to tackle a new
challenge: skiing lessons so she can finally join the rest of
her family on their annual holiday trip to Vail.
"I'm always at the bottom of the hill like waiting for everybody
to come back," said Felix. "There's just been so many
sacrifices."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Toby Davis)
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