Olympian-turned-maternal health advocate Allyson Felix's story debuts at Tribeca Film Festival

What you probably already know: You likely have seen Allyson Felix race. She’s the most decorated sprinter in the world, with more Olympic medals than Usain Bolt. She was also, until recently, a Nike-sponsored athlete who was featured prominently in ad campaigns for years. Then, Felix decided to have a baby and everything changed. Nike delayed renewing her contract and then added provisions that would result in massive pay cuts if she didn’t get back on the podium a year after her daughter was born. Felix had a difficult pregnancy and experienced extreme preeclampsia, resulting in a C-section. Her daughter was in the NICU for more than a month. Now, a new documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival over the weekend tells Felix’s story of going from professional athlete to advocate for maternal protections.

Why? The film, “She Runs the World,” features Felix and her brother/agent, Wes Felix, as well as their family and other prominent women athletes talking about the issues professional athletes have with the shoe companies once they decide to have children. Many women athletes hide their pregnancies as long as possible, especially if they are in contract negotiations. For many others, they’re forced to retire. During a question and answer session after the film, Wes Felix said that 75% of the professional runners he knew had had abortions. While Nike has now implemented a standard system for all women athletes, other companies continue to deal with the issue on a case by case basis, often denying athletes their pay unless they are able to recover quickly. “Nike did the right thing by offering maternal protections,” he said, “and other brands followed but there is no mandate.” Adidas still hasn’t rolled it out, nor has New Balance, he said.

What it means: Many professional athletes are women of color, particularly Black women, who have significantly higher maternal mortality rates than white women. According to the CDC, more than 80% of the pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable. Asking athletes to hide their pregnancies just puts them at higher risk of developing issues. Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie died at the age of 32 of eclampsia in 2023 when she was eight months pregnant.

What happens now? Felix and the film’s producers and directors are pushing for change and better protections for all pregnant people. She has also started her own shoe company, Saysh, making shoes that are based on a woman’s foot instead of a man’s. Most shoe companies, including Nike, use a man’s model and then just shrink it down for a woman’s foot and offer colors women like, a system many call “shrink it and pink it.” Felix’s shoes are actually based on a women’s model and are priced around the same as a typical shoe brand.