Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) should need no introduction. She is the most decorated track athlete of all-time, male or female, with 26 global championship medals. As a sprinter who focuses on the 200m, 400m, and relay events, she has won 18 gold medals including gold medals at 3 different Olympic Games (2008, 2012, 2016). She has won the Jesse Owens Award given to the top USATF athlete each year a record 5 times. Off the track, Allyson is active in advocating for women and youth sports and serves on the Right to Play Board of Directors. In this episode, we begin with a quick introduction on her background in sport and then dive into two topics on which Allyson's voice is so important: maternity rights and clean sport. She discusses how being a mom has motivated her to speak out on topics such as these. She provides her thoughts on what more can be done to protect female athletes during and after their pregnancies. In addition, we talk about the current culture within sprinting regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs and what more can be done to create a level playing field. She also gives her perspective on the Christian Coleman case and why missing a drug test is such a big deal, including a story about her one and only missed test while taking an exam at USC. At the end, we discuss Allyson's new sponsorship deal with Athleta and what she is doing to try to make another Olympic team in Toyko 2020. We want to thank Allyson for her strong and clear perspectives on these two very important topics and for her willingness to use her voice. We need more athletes like Allyson who are willing to speak out. Check out this link for Allyson's op-ed in the NY times on maternity rights and her contract dispute with Nike, her former sponsor: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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