"I'm a beast, I did all this stuff, I'm ready to go” - Allyson Felix on handling pressure before Olympics during conversation with Michael Johnson

14-time world champion Allyson Felix shared her take on handling the Olympic pressure while preparing for the event every four years. The former athlete, who specialized in the 200m and 400 races, is a seven-time Olympic gold medallist. Impressively, Felix won gold in every Olympic appearance in her career.

The 37-year-old possesses a plethora of knowledge about dealing with the challenging times that every athlete faces in their career. Be it taking a stand for herself or working to maintain her gold medalist stardom in her Olympic journey, Felix overcame every pressure that was thrown her way.

Felix won her first gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 4x400m relay race. In the following year’s Olympics in London, she achieved another gold medal in the 200m, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay races. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Felix won in the 4x100m and 4x400m relay races. In her career’s last Olympics in Tokyo, she won gold in the 4x400m relay race.

Recently, during a conversation with legendary athlete Michael Johnson at an event hosted by Upfront Ventures, the retired athlete was asked how she handled the pressure to maintain her flow every Olympics.

Felix explained that every year she would only have a few seconds to prove herself. She said:

“When you've messed up having to wait those four years and I've messed up I've had to wait and it's really really difficult but I think the thing is learning what works for you”

She revealed that it was important to understand herself during her preparation phase. So, she would write everything she practiced every single day. Before championships, Felix would go through everything she practiced that gave her the confidence to compete. The retired athlete added:

“I found confidence in that preparation it's like okay I'm a beast I did all this stuff like I'm ready to go like this is you know all I have to do now is put the race together so that really helped me.”

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Allyson Felix’s feud with sports brand Nike

Allyson Felix at World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Nine

Before 2019, Allyson Felix was sponsored by renowned sports brand Nike. Everything about her collaboration with the brand was going fine until she got pregnant in 2018. While her close ones were happy for her, the athlete’s sponsor was not very pleased to learn about her pregnancy.

Nike cut 70% of her salary and also pressured her to get back to training as soon as possible. After delivering her baby girl in 2018, Allyson Felix returned to training within six weeks. She subsequently qualified for the 2019 World Championships.

Felix was disheartened by the treatment she received from Nike. In 2019, the athlete cut ties with Nike permanently. Today, she runs her own shoe brand, Bysash.