'She Pivots' in partnership with Marie Claire challenges the typical definition of success and explores the role our personal stories play in our professional journey.

In high school, Allison Felix began running on the school track team in hopes of meeting new people. But it wasn't long before the world knew who she was: Felix became a track and field star, winning 11 Olympic medals and numerous world championships. Felix went on to win 11 medals at the Olympics and an impressive number of world championships.

But Felix's impact on the world of track and field went beyond his accolades. He said, "As I went along in my career, I won medals. But what I always wanted, it was to be a mother and to have a family. So that was the moment when things really started to change for me."

However, becoming a mother as a professional athlete in competitive sports was not easy. Because salaries and sponsorships are often based on physical performance, many women in high-level sports often try to hide their pregnancies. Felix experienced this as well. After announcing her pregnancy, her income decreased. But more than that, she did not feel supported by the industry." I feel rude. It's hard. ......" She says. "And that's when I really started seeking maternal protection. Basically, I wanted time to recover from pregnancy, time to recover from childbirth, before these performance reductions were put into place. That was something I was seeking not only for myself, but for all of us." Felix published an op-ed in The New York Times publicly condemning Nike's treatment of pregnant athletes.

Fighting publicly for pregnancy protection was not only a frightening event for Felix at the time. She had a complicated and traumatic birth, and her daughter was in the NICU for a month. (Felix recently wrote about the death of teammate Tori Bowie, who died from complications during childbirth.) The experience spurred Felix on to fight even harder.

Eventually it led her to start her own shoe company, Saysh. Felix says of Saysh's maternity return policy, "If a woman's foot size changes during pregnancy, Saysh offers a maternity return policy. 'It's about better supporting women and saying that they don't have to choose or decide between being a mother and being anything else. We want to make the world a better place for women.

You can hear more about Felix's amazing fight for pregnancy protection for athletes below.