Los Angeles ¨C Allyson Felix, the most decorated woman in track and field history, called the U.S. Supreme Court¡¯s ruling ending the constitutional right to an abortion ¡°shocking¡± and a ¡°step back¡± for women on Sunday.

The sprinter, who won a U.S. record 11 Olympic medals before hanging up her spikes after competing in her final World Athletics Championships last month, has also been a champion for working mothers and said she was blindsided by the decision.

¡°Any time rights are being taken away, that¡¯s shocking,¡± Felix told said before taking part in sports apparel company Athleta¡¯s ¡°Race for Change¡± in her native Los Angeles.

¡°We¡¯re trying to move forward and not take steps back, so there is more fight left. I think we have to prepare for that and keep doing the work.¡±

In late June, the United States¡¯ highest court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized the right to an abortion, enabling states to ban the procedure and upending nearly a half century of precedent.

¡°You just don¡¯t expect something like that to happen at this point in time but it¡¯s where we¡¯re at,¡± she said, adding that she planned to use her platform to advocate for women¡¯s rights.

Under sunny Southern California skies, Felix posed in the starting blocks alongside her three-year-old daughter Camryn before the pair walked the track holding hands in a heartwarming scene.

But Felix worries her daughter and the next generation of female athletes will be hamstrung by the Supreme Court decision.

¡°So many people have fought for those rights and I want my daughter to grow up in a world where there is a true sense of equality,¡± Felix said.

¡°I think we¡¯re very far away from that.¡±

Felix made headlines in 2019 when she revealed that she had split from Nike after her long-time sponsor cut her pay after she got pregnant. That led her to sign with Athleta and launch her own running shoe company, Saysh.

Since then, Felix said raising a child had opened her eyes to the myriad challenges facing working mothers ¡ª issues she is taking steps to address.

¡°A lot of the landscape needs to change,¡± she said.

Felix¡¯s charitable race on Sunday included free on-site child care services and a lactation pod, and she hoped it could serve as a blueprint for events in the future ¡ª perhaps even in the biggest event of them all.

¡°It would be a dream to have child care at the Olympic Games for all of the athletes competing,¡± she said.

¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯m definitely going to be working on.¡±