Oneofthescariestmomentsofmycareerstartedon a darkOctobermorningin 2018.
I'm a professionalathlete, andmytrainingschedulecanbe a lot.
Sixdays a week, fivehours a day, it's intense.
Still, I nevertrainthatearly.
Butonthisday, a specialtypeoffearbroughtmeoutatfour a.m. beforethesun.
A fearthat I hadneverexperiencedbefore.
Four a.m. beforethesun.
A fearthatsomeonemightdiscover a secret I'd beenkeeping.
I wassixmonthspregnant.
I waspregnant, and I wasscaredenoughtotraininthedarksothatnoonewouldseethelifethatwasgrowinginsideofme.
I fearedthatif a fanorsomeoneposted a photo, thatmysponsorwouldimmediatelychangetheirmindaboutwantingtoworkwithme.
I fearedthat I wouldbeforcedtochoosebetweenmotherhoodandbeing a competitiveathlete.
I fearedthatthecareer I workedsohardtobuildwoulddisappearjustlikethat.
Youthink I'm exaggerating, right?
Howcould a six-timeOlympicchampion, a 16-timeworldchampion, a worldrecordholderpossiblythinkthathercareermightbeoverbydoingsomethingasnaturalashaving a baby?
Well, I'm notexaggerating.
Gettingpregnantintrackandfieldhasbeencalledthekissofdeath, anditcomeswith a lotoffear, justlikeforwomeninmanyprofessions.
I havebeenwatchingwomenthat I respectandteammatesofminehavepregnanciessince I was 19 yearsold.
I'veseenwomenhavetomakegut-wrenchingdecisions, likedecidingwhethertorecovertheirhealthorreturntothesport, decidingwhethertostayinthehospitalwith a sickchildorgoto a racesothattheydon't receive a furtherpayreduction.
I knowwhatsomeofyoumightbethinking.
Weallchoosetogetpregnant, right?
If a sponsordoesn't wanttopayanathletewho's notoutonthetrackwinning, that's justpartofthedeal, right?
Well, I thinkthedeal's rigged.
I thinkthatcompanieswanttohaveitbothways, and I thinkit's timewechange.
I madeitbacktotheOlympicstwoyearsaftergivingbirth.
I won a goldand a bronze.
And I ...
And I becamethemostdecoratedAmericantrack-and-fieldathleteofalltime.
Allwhilemydaughterwaswatching.
Allwhilemydaughterwaswatching.
I wasrunningforsomuchmorethanformedalsorfor a timeonthetrack.
I wasrunningas a representationforwomenandformothersandforanybodywhohadbeentoldthattheirstorywasover.
I remembercrossingthatlineinTokyoandhavingsuch a senseoffulfillment.
I lookeddownatmyfeet, andforthefirsttimeinmyentirecareer,
I wasn't wearingAdidas.
I wasn't wearingNike.
I waswearingSeiche, thewomen's footwearbrandthat I founded, designedforandbywomenwhen I wasleftwithout a footwearsponsor, because I wastiredofnotbeingvaluedorabletoshowupfullyasmyself.
I learnedthatmyvoicehaspower, andwhen I betonmyself, changeispossible.