This week, Allyson Felix showed her commitment to education and fitness as a participant in NBC’s fourth annual ‘Education Nation‘ Summit in New York City.
The six-time Olympic medalist was a panelist for Tuesday’s ‘Healthy Living’ discussion. Felix earned three gold medals in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, including her first individual gold medal in the 200 meters.
The 27-year-old was officially tapped by first lady Michelle Obama to join her ‘Let’s Move’ campaign. Felix has appeared in several public service announcements, joining other athletes such as Serena Williams and Colin Kaepernick. Her degree from the University of Southern California is in elementary education.
“I have a passion for young kids and educating them,” Felix told theGrio.com’s Todd Johnson. “And then also continuing on with bringing physical activity back into classrooms and fighting the physical activity epidemic…I really just want to move in that direction.”
In August, Felix tore her hamstring at the World Championships in Moscow, but says she’s still on schedule to defend her gold medals at the 2016 Rio Games.
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“Thankfully, I’m coming back really strongly from my injury,” Felix said. “Lots of rehab and just gearing up to go back to training in about a month.”
Earlier this year, Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown tested positive for a banned diuretic at the Jamaica International Invitational meet. Campbell-Brown took gold in the 200 meters in back-to-back Olympics games in 2004 and 2008. On both occasions, Felix finished second.
Campbell-Brown is reportedly close to being cleared to run after an investigation found her doping violation was not intentional and not related to performance enhancement. Felix said taking banned substances is a line she refuses to cross.
“I try to get all my nutrition from my food and it’s something that I’m very careful about and something I’m passionate about,” Felix said. “Along with the lines of me loving kids, I think it’s a great message to send them as well: ‘You can’t go down that route.'”
Follow theGrio.com’s Sports Editor Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj