As If Being A Mother Isn't Hard Enough, Here Are 18 Moms Competing In The Tokyo Olympics
1.Allyson Felix
Team: USA
Sport: Track and Field
Event(s): 400-meter, 400-meter relay
Olympic Medal(s): Six golds, three silvers
Allyson Felix is one of the most decorated Olympians of all time. However, when she decided to start a family in 2018, she was met with pay cuts from her sponsor, Nike. Felix penned an op-ed in The New York Times about Nike’s discrimination, which helped bring about a new maternity policy. The 2020 Tokyo games are Allyson's first as a mother.
2.Diana Taurasi
Team: USA
Sport: Basketball
Position: Guard
Olympic Medal(s): Four golds
WNBA star Diana Taurasi and assistant coach Penny Taylor welcomed their son, Leo Michael Taurasi-Taylor, in 2018. "He's changed the way I go about my business on the court," Taurasi told ESPN. "Now you're representing not only yourself, but your child." Taurasi and Taylor are expecting their second child in October.
3.Alex Morgan
Team: USA
Sport: Soccer
Position: Forward
Olympic Medal(s): One gold
Alex Morgan is not only a star forward for the US Women's National Team, but a mother as well. She gave birth to her daughter, Charlie, in May 2020. "I'm not going to lie, it's uncharted territory for me to be a mom first and an athlete second," Morgan shared with InStyle. As she competes with USWNT in Tokyo, it's clear Morgan has found the balance between motherhood and soccer.
4.Kim Gaucher
5.Lora Webster
6.Sally Kipyego
7.Mandy Bujold
8.Brittney Reese
Team: USA
Sport: Track and Field
Event(s): Long Jump
Olympic Medal(s): One gold, two silvers
In 2015, long jumper Brittney Reese adopted her friend's 6-year-old son. "It was the time that I needed him and he needed me," Reese shared with Parity Now on the adoption. "He just gave me a greater purpose. It's a real blessing."
9.Naomi Folkard
10.Skylar Diggins-Smith
Team: USA
Sport: Basketball
Position: Guard
Olympic Medal(s): N/A
The 2020 Olympics are the first for WNBA Dallas Wings point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith. After giving birth in 2019, Skylar was open about her struggles with postpartum depression and took a leave of absence during the WNBA season. However, she is back on the court representing Team USA in Tokyo. Diggins-Smith shared with FIBA, "What I want to do is continue to fight and have a conversation on how we can improve the support, on how we can improve the conditions for working moms now and in the future."
11.Mariel Zagunis
12.Quanera Hayes
Team: USA
Sport: Track and Field
Event(s): 400-meter, 4x400-meter relay
Olympic Medal(s): N/A
Quanera Hayes placed first in the women's 400m trials for the Tokyo games and took a victory lap with her son, Demetrious, around the track. Hayes told Today, “That mindset that I have now as a mom; that ‘go-get-it’ attitude is heightened times 10. I had a baby, am raising a child, and practice every day and fight every day for a dream… it feels like nothing is impossible.”
13.Gwen Berry
Team: USA
Sport: Track and Field
Event(s): Hammer Throw
Olympic Medal(s): N/A
The Team USA hammer thrower made waves at the the US Olympic Track and Field Trials after turning away from the American flag as the national anthem played on the medals podium. “I’ve always been a speaker for my community," Berry told Time. "Being a young teenage mother, I’ve always had to speak for my son and make sure my son was safe. So this time around, it’s no different." Gwen Berry gave birth to her son Derrick at 15 years old.
14.Kaleo Kanahele Maclay
15.Cat Osterman
16.Aliphine Tuliamuk
17.Helen Glover
18.Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson
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