The cover story: Motherhood could have cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She wouldn't let It

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The Cover Story Motherhood Could Have Cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She Wouldn't Let It By Sean Gregory Senior Sports Correspondent, TIME Allyson Felix and I first met before the 2004 Olympics in Athens; she was 18, a young track-and-field phenom preparing for her first Games as a sprinter. They were the first Games I covered as a journalist. Four years later, I sat with her on a bench on UCLA's campus, where she was training for the Beijing Olympics , to discuss her hopes of winning 200 m gold in China (she won silver in that race). We met in New York City a few weeks before the 2012 London Olympics; I joked that I felt like we were growing up together at the Olympics, except she wins medals in front of millions, while I pound away at a computer. She won 200 m gold that year. After Rio, Felix's life took an unexpected turn: a traumatic pregnancy threatened her life. Both Felix and daughter Camryn, now 2, are now fine; but as she approached her fifth and final Games, Felix started raising awareness about the unequal health care outcomes for Black mothers in the U.S. And after a sponsorship standoff with her former corporate partner, Nike, she emerged as an advocate for working moms in sports. Felix entrusted TIME to chronicle her journey from a young superstar, laser-focused on winning, to a mom who stands for so much more. In late May, I spent time with Felix as she drove around Los Angeles to training and a massage-therapy appointment. L.A. traffic is a reporter's best friend; it gave us time to discuss the challenges of motherhood, how she was becoming her own footwear sponsor, and so much more. Our Felix cover profile anchors an Olympics preview package on a Games like no other. My colleague Alice Park, who in Tokyo will be covering her fifth Summer Games, writes an in-depth feature on how the Japanese city plans to avoid pandemic disaster as more than 11,000 athletes, plus officials and media, enter a country with relatively low COVID-19 vaccination rates. Naomi Osaka, who will represent the host country in Tokyo, pens a thoughtful essay explaining why she withdrew from the French Open and took a break from tennis; her first public comments on her highly scrutinized decision. Vivenne Walt reports on why some athletes who competed for the Refugee Olympic Team in Rio did not want to do so in Tokyo. Our list of must-watch athletes includes a profile of Team USA basketball star Sue Bird ; we also spotlight a group of athletes who served on the COVID-19 front lines, like Spain's Susanna Rodríguez, a para triathlete—and physician.   Both Felix and I will be at our fifth Summer Games in Tokyo. With one more medal, her 10th, she'll become the most decorated female track-and-field athlete of all-time. With one more story written from press row, I'll become … something, I guess. Let the Games begin. Read the Story » Share the cover story

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