The goodbye of Allyson Felix, legend and icon of feminism: "People do not understand what it is to face Nike"

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A few minutes before the final, a crowd shouts "Allyson, we love you!"

and a girl is excited dressed in a white T-shirt that leaves no doubt: "I'm here to cheer

".

"Is she, mum!" She yells and her mother looks at her with that happiness that comes from transmitting idols, values, references.

She warms up Felix, she does it right behind the Hayward Field bleachers, the Eugene World Cup is so small, and the crowd, mostly female, mostly black, applauds her, cheers her, loves her.

Allyson Felix retires at the age of 36, one of the best sprinters in history, perhaps the best, the most successful, with 11 medals in the Olympic Games and 19 in World Cups, but above all Allyson Felix, an icon, retires.

At the end of the mixed 4x400 relay, her last race, having already saved the bronze for the United States, she receives hugs from her rivals and sits down, lies down, looking for breath.

Her farewell was somewhat tarnished by the Yankee defeat and by her own start, since she flew in the first 200 meters and stopped in the last.

The same thing happened to her colleague

to lose to the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands.

More than 10 minutes she needs the legend to recover, smile and start looking for her daughter,

, in the stands .

The one that changed everything.

Until her birth in late 2018, Felix was successful in tartan;

after her birth, it is vindication.

"I hope I will be remembered as a fierce competitor, but the most important thing for me has been trying to leave this sport better than I found it," says the mixed zone sprinter, adding: "The last three years have been the most difficult, without a doubt, and now, when I reflect on them, I cannot believe what I have achieved".

Since she wrote in the 'New York Times' denouncing Nike, that she wanted to lower her salary by 70% in full maternity leave, she has led several initiatives to protect working mothers, specifically athletes.

Her break with Nike, which led her to be the image of Athleta, a feminist brand, was her first.

But now she, already retired, she will go further.

A brand with new ideas

A few weeks ago he bought 'Voice in Sport', a platform to give athletes a voice, and is launching 'Saysh', his own sportswear brand with original initiatives.

For example, she agrees to give away a pair of slippers one size up to any pregnant customer who is uncomfortable in her pair.

In addition, already out of business, Felix supports a campaign called 'Hear' to try to ensure that pregnant black women receive adequate treatment in healthcare, since he considers that they are despised, that they are never listened to.

In his memory, the severe preeclampsia he suffered, the urgent cesarean section, the days in the ICU, the entire month that his daughter was hospitalized.

"Now I will dedicate myself to spending time with my daughter," he says when asked about her many future plans.

"There is no one like her, there is no one," emphasizes

, a substitute for that 4x400 relay, who is emotional with the farewell of her reference.

"She's been in athletics for 20 years and I still haven't heard anything bad about her. I don't think I ever will. She's that kind of person who does everything right," she says.

Precisely this Friday, to honor her, a few athletes from the United States went to the stands of a Hayward Field, with some empty seats.

One of them was

, star of the 200 meters, who in the previous days had perfectly summed up the figure of Felix.

"She faced Nike. I don't think people understand what that means, the influence that Nike has in the United States," commented the sprinter, who added: "For a black woman to face a corporation, to say what she thinks And that he stands up for what he thinks is right is something we young people should use as an example."

Allyson Felix leaves, but he has a long, long way to go.

The athlete with the most medals in the Olympic Games, the woman who broke the Jamaican dominance of the 200 meters in London 2012, the world champion in 2005, 2007, 2009 or 2015, retires with a mission, clear ideas and a girl or, rather, many girls.

From her daughter to her little girl who cheers her on at Hayward Field in Eugene in a white T-shirt that leaves no doubt: "I'm here to cheer Allyson Felix."

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