On Friday, August 6, American track and field athlete Allyson Felix took to Instagram to celebrate her recent win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In the post, she detailed her struggles in recent years as she tried to keep her career afloat whilst being a new mom.
Allyson made history at the 2020 Olympics after winning the bronze medal in the women’s 400m race. She ranked third behind Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic.
With her recent win, Allyson became the only female track and field athlete to win a total of 10 medals. The Olympian took to Instagram to celebrate her Tokyo 2020 win, where she also detailed the struggles she faced while finding a sponsor.
This reminded many fans of the time Allyson left Nike over the company’s “beyond disrespectful’ treatment of her.
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Why did Allyson Felix leave Nike?
In her 2019 op-ed piece for The New York Times, the 35-year-old accused Nike of “being unsupportive” towards female athletes who were “pregnant and new mothers.”
She detailed her experience with the company revealing that her contract with Nike expired in December 2017, and she was pregnant while negotiating a new deal. Allyson further revealed that the brand asked her to take a 70% pay cut in the new contract because she was pregnant.
She also claimed that Nike failed to provide her with the maternity protections she had explicitly requested in the contract. The mother of one left the brand and found a new sponsor in Athleta, a female-centric apparel company.
In a recent interview with Times magazine, Allyson revealed that she found Nike’s treatment, “beyond disrespectful and tone-deaf.”
The good news is that Nike have since reformed its payment protection policy, which is now inclusive of pregnant women and new mothers.
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Athletes’ net worth and business ventures explored
- Allyson’s net worth is approximately $4.5 million.
Not only is she a decorated Olympian with many medals under her belt, but she’s also a successful businesswoman.
Apart from her earnings through her on-field achievements and sponsorships, Allyson is now pushing her net worth up through Saysh – a shoe brand she recently launched.
A look at her Olympics journey
Allyson made her debut in the Olympics for the first time in 2004, when she was only 18. After graduating high school, the Olympian decided to pursue track full time and became the youngest gold medalist sprinter in the 200 meters World Championships at Helsinki.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she secured a second-place finish in the 4 × 400 m relay, which she completed in just 48.2 seconds – a very impressive achievement.
In the latest 400m finals, Allyson finished in 49.46 seconds and went on to win the bronze medal. Tokyo 2020 was her fifth Olympics games appearance and her first as a mom. It is safe to say, she did her newborn proud.
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