Yahoo Movies Allyson Felix Heads to Tokyo for Fifth Olympics as She Says 'My Heart Aches Leaving' Daughter Cammy
Allyson Felix is off to Tokyo!
The track and field star, who is heading to her fifth Olympic Games — her first as a mother — shared a post about leaving her 2½-year-old daughter Camryn in Los Angeles while she competes in Japan.
"My heart aches leaving Cammy today to head to Tokyo. It will be the longest we've ever been apart," Felix, 35, wrote on Instagram, Saturday. "But, the fight to get to this point has shown me my strength and I'm excited for all the reasons I'm running — for greater equity for each of us and for women. One day when I tell her this story I know she will be proud of her Mama."
RELATED: Super Mamas! 10 Moms Competing in the Tokyo Olympics This Summer
Allyson Felix / Instagram
RELATED: Team USA Wins First Medals in Tokyo with Men's Swimming Medley
Also on Instagram, Felix's husband Kenneth Ferguson shared multiple send-off posts, including a family selfie from the car drop-off area at Los Angeles International Airport. "Dropping this one off! Safe travels baby," he wrote. "Cammy and I will hold it down til you get back!"
In another Instagram Story post, Ferguson wrote, "And she's off to Tokyo! Time to handle business... bring home some medals #olympics2020," along with a photo of Felix at the airport.
Allyson Felix / Instagram
Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
Allyson Felix / Instagram
Felix has won six gold and three silver medals in her Olympic career since the 2004 Athens Games. If she medals in the women's 400m and 4x400m in Tokyo, Felix will become the most decorated American in track and field history. (Carl Lewis has a total of 10.)
Felix already has more Olympic medals than any other woman in U.S. track and field history.
To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
