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Olympian Allyson Felix’s Honest Advice to Daughter Camryn Deserves a Gold Medal

At Time's 2022 Women of the Year gala, decorated track-and-field Olympian Allyson Felix shared with E! News some heartwarming advice for her 3-year-old daughter Camryn.

By Spencer Lubitz, Emlyn Travis Mar 09, 2022 7:14 PMTags
Watch: Allyson Felix: Who Inspired the Olympian's "Fighter Spirit"?

Track-and-field star Allyson Felix wants her daughter Camryn to know the importance of going the distance. 

On March 8, International Women's Day, the decorated Olympian, 36, exclusively spoke with E! News at TIME's 2022 Women of the Year gala in Beverly Hills and revealed the sweet life advice that she'd like to give her little one. 

"I would tell Camryn to embrace the journey of life," Allyson said. "There's going be a lot of disappointments along the way, but those are great lessons to learn, and you can always get better from those moments." 

She continued, "There should be no limits to what you want to accomplish." 

The athlete and activist—who was selected alongside Amal Clooney, Kerry Washington and more as one of TIME's 2022 Women of the Year, sponsored by Fiji Water—has long been a source of inspiration for her 3-year-old daughter, who adorably cheered on her mom from home as she became the most decorated woman in track-and-field history at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo last year. 

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But who has inspired Allyson throughout her historic 11 Olympic medal-winning career thus far? "There's so many women that inspire me," she shared. "Michelle Obama is a huge inspiration. I feel like, you know, doing it at the highest of levels and just really being impactful and making a difference in the world, make her someone I'm really personally inspired by." 

Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for TIME

In addition to the former First Lady, Allyson's daughter, who she and husband Kenneth Ferguson welcomed in November 2018, has also had a profound effect on her career.

In June 2021, the five-time Olympian exclusively told E! News that Camryn gave her "a whole new drive" when it came to competing.  

"I've always been competitive and I've always wanted to win, but now, the reasoning behind it is just different. I want her to see what it looks like to be a hard worker, to overcome adversity," she said. "I can't wait to tell her about these last, you know, couple years and how hard they have been, but how she has really motivated me to continue on."  

At the time, Allyson also revealed that her daughter was "really into cheering right now," adding, "Whenever she sees me running, she's like, 'Run, Mama, run,' and she's really into just being a little cheerleader. It's really fun to just see how the process develops and how she becomes more active." 

In turn, Camryn's encouragement gives her mom the strength to keep breaking records and making a difference in the world. "I hope that she's able to learn all those lessons and I'm able to show her she was along for this journey," Allyson said. "She's really giving me the courage and helping me to continue."