Allison Felix, an 11-time Olympic medalist and sprinter, will be competing in Paris this summer.

Allison Felix, a mother of two, has partnered with Pampers to create a comfortable and convenient place for athletes to spend time with their children between competitions. The nursery includes toys, books, and a nursing area, part of the International Olympic Committee's effort to make competing parents feel supported.

Felix, who returned to competition in 2018 with the birth of his first child, Camryn, said he wished he had such a space when he was going for gold. In the first season, I took her everywhere, and it was really hard in a way I didn't expect," Felix told Marie Claire.

The idea for the crèche came to Felix when she was an athlete representative on the IOC Athletes' Commission and she asked: "How can we better support athletes who have children? As CEO and founder of Saysh, a company that makes sneakers to fit the shape of women's feet, she couldn't believe that something like this didn't already exist.

"It's not rocket science; we're just doing this now, in 2024. I was thrilled that we were able to do this in time," she says. [Especially because we are seeing the age of female Olympic medalists increasing. That means that while in another era women might have been shut out of the sports world by motherhood, these days they are competing and winning. But it also means that the system needs to change to meet their needs as parents.

This is not the first time Felix has spoken out on behalf of women and mothers; in 2019, she wrote a highly praised op-ed for The New York Times about her experience with former sponsor Nike. The contribution triggered the brand to establish a new maternity policy that guarantees salary and bonuses for all sponsored athletes for 18 months before and after pregnancy. Besides that, she addressed Congress on racial disparities in maternal health, and her company Saysh offers the world's first return policy for women whose shoe sizes may change during pregnancy.

When it comes to caring for parents in their biggest moments in sports, Felix sees the Paris crèche as a jumping off point: as a member of the LA28 Organizing Committee Athlete Committee, Felix envisions full childcare and an expansion of the crèche's age range. This year, the intention is to provide the comforts of home, with cozy furnishings including sofas and soft play areas, and a primary focus on babies (equipped with Pampers diapers, naturally). In reality, however, athletes include children of all ages. She says, "This progress gives us confidence that when we expand to Los Angeles in 2028, we'll be able to grow them even more."