Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes
6 ALICE MILLIAT ROWER Once upon a time women weren't allowed to compete in the Olympic Games The president of the International Olympic Committee IOC declared that sports were too violent and inappropriate for ladies That's ridiculous thought Alice She knew that women were strong and fast and competitive too Born in France in 1884 Alice studied to become a teacher and translator But what really made her feel alive was playing sports Swimming hockey and rowing helped her body grow stronger and her mind grow sharper And she knew she wasn't the only one Sports were good for everybody In 1919 Alice asked the IOC to include women in the track and field program They said no So she started her own organization the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale FSFI Three years later they organized a big one day sporting event just for women Around 20,000 fans came to watch 11 events in a stadium near Paris Athletes from Czechoslovakia France Switzerland the United Kingdom and the United States ran jumped and threw shot puts and javelins By the end of the day 18 world records were broken Four years later Alice organized the games again calling it the Women's World Games They had a special opening ceremony with 3,000 carrier pigeons released into the sky The IOC wanted Alice to stop the games immediately This time it was her turn to say no She would not back down until women were allowed in the Olympics It took more than 70 years for Alice's dream to come true By that time Alice the FSFI and the Women's World Games were long gone But today every woman who steps into an Olympic arena has Alice to thank MAY 5 1884 oe MAY 19 1957 FRANCE
I CAME UP AGAINST A SOLID WALL OF REFUSAL WHICH LED DIRECTLY TO THE CREATION OF THE WOMEN'S OLYMPIC GAMES ALICE MILLIAT ILLUSTRATION BY JULIETTE LÉVEILLÉ
ALLYSON FELIX SPRINTER Once upon a time there was a girl who ran so fast she could outrace the wind Her name was Allyson She took up running in her freshman year of high school where some teammates called her Chicken Legs Her limbs may have been long and thin but they sure were powerful Soon she was sprinting all over the world Between the Athens Beijing London and Rio Olympic Games she won nine medals In 2018 Allyson decided to become a mother She was so excited But about eight months into her pregnancy she realized that something wasn't right Allyson had to have emergency surgery to deliver her daughter early This surgery saved both of their lives Allyson couldn't do much while she recovered She could barely walk for 30 minutes at a time She started thinking a lot about Black mothers They died in childbirth at a much higher rate than other women Allyson decided to speak out She told her story to members of the US Congress and asked them to act Allyson knew that words and actions mattered When a sponsor wanted to pay her less after she became a mom she acted She found a new sponsor Then she started her own sneaker company In 2021 Allyson went to Tokyo for her fifth Olympic Games With her fierce determination and strong stride she did it again She won two more medals in the 400 meter sprint and 400 meter relay It had been a challenging journey from pregnancy to the Olympic podium and from athletics to activism Standing next to her teammates draped in an American flag Allyson said I'm absolutely where I'm supposed to be BORN NOVEMBER 18 1985 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 8
ILLUSTRATION BY KIM HOLT USA I REALLY WANT MY LEGACY TO BE ONE OF SOMEONE WHO FOUGHT FOR WOMEN ALLYSON FELIX
