Photo: Dan Maharry | Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0
Track and field athlete Allyson Felix bowed out on a high with her Olympic swansong in Tokyo this summer, taking bronze and gold medals. But alongside her podium success is a zeal to support sporting mothers, inspired by her own bruising treatment by former sponsor, Nike. Back in 2018, Felix decided to start a family. Amid negotiations with Nike around renewing her contract, it emerged that the global sportswear brand wanted to pay her – now a new mother – 70% less than before she became a parent. Although Nike ended up capitulating, Felix decided to look elsewhere for sponsorship and ended up partnering with Athleta, a B Corporation. While preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, Felix and Athleta joined forces with the US charity Women’s Sports Foundation to launch The Power of She. A $200,000 (£144,000) cash pot will support mother athletes who are eligible to compete for a US national team. Grants of $10,000 (£7,200) will “provide the resources and support that mom-athletes need to focus on excelling in their careers,” according to Athleta.
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