2:58
- living
- July 21, 2021
Olympic moms to watch and cheer on in Tokyo
Allyson Felix, Diana Taurasi and Alex Morgan and more are going for the gold.
2:58
“A Mother. I always wanted to be one but didn’t fully realize what it would mean. As an athlete, I was not sure how Motherhood would play a role in my running,” she wrote. “I quickly realized that being a Mom enhanced the great qualities that I already possessed. Being a Mother has made me a better Athlete and a better person.”
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Long distance runner Aliphine Tuliamuk is competing in Tokyo just seven months after giving birth to her daughter Zoe.
When the pandemic first broke in 2020, Tuliamuk had just qualified for the U.S. team at the Olympic trials. But COVID-19 pushed her and her husband, Tim Gannon, to reassess their family planning timeline.
Baby Zoe is heading to Tokyo with Tuliamuk since she is still breastfeeding.
“The last 6 months with you baby Zoe have been the best ones of our lives,” Tuliamuk wrote on Instagram. “Your dad and I are so blessed to get to watch you grow and teach you everything we know about this world. And now we are beyond excited that you get to come to Japan and cheer on your mama as she goes after her biggest running goals …”
“What a relief it feels not to have to imagine my breastfeeding daughter being miles away from me,” she added.
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The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be Mariel Zagunis’ fifth Summer Games, but it’s her first as a mom.
Mariel, who holds four Olympic medals and five Senior World Championship titles, gave birth to her daughter, Sunday Noelle, in 2017. One year after welcoming her daughter with her husband, Mike Swehla, she gushed about pregnancy in an interview with USA Fencing saying, “I really enjoyed being pregnant.”
“I really enjoyed it for what it was and enjoyed every week that the baby was growing and I was growing,” she said.
She channeled her daughter and family as motivation for prepping for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“Now I have new motivation,” she told USA Fencing in 2018. “Doing this for my daughter and trying to make that work … I’m really excited to go to my next Olympics with her to show that anything is possible.”
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A veteran of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Morgan is competing in her third Olympic games this summer, but it will be her first as a mom.
In May 2020, Morgan, who plays for Orlando Pride, welcomed her daughter Charlie with husband, Servando Carrasco.
Leading up to the Olympics, Morgan expressed her concern on social media about being able to bring her daughter to Tokyo. She pressured the IOC to clarify its stance on athletes bringing their children to the games.
Before heading to Tokyo, Morgan shared a sweet photo of her daughter.
“I’m going to miss my baby girl so much this month,” Morgan wrote. “Charlie girl, I’ll make it worth it!”
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Gwen Berry is an American track and field athlete heading to the Summer Games. The hammer thrower is the mother of a teenage son named Derrick.
As an athlete and an outspoken social justice advocate, Berry has faced much criticism. During the track and field trials, she turned away from the American flag while the national anthem played. She was also placed on probation in 2019 for raising a fist during a medal ceremony during the Pan American Games.
She told Time Magazine that she wants to use her voice and her platform to protest “for America to be good for everybody.”
“I have been true to this for the last two years, maybe more,” said Berry. “I’ve always been a speaker for my community. Being a young teenage mother, I’ve always had to speak for my son and make sure my son was safe … I won’t shut up. And I will keep bringing acknowledgment and awareness to the things that are going on in other communities.”
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This is Brittney Reese’s second Olympic Games as a mom. Before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the track and field long jumper adopted her godson, Alex, when a friend could no longer care for him.
Last month, Reese expressed her excitement to be competing in Tokyo in an Instagram post.
“4x Olympian … Never in my wildest dreams I thought this was possible… I am extremely blessed and humbled to be able to compete at this level,” she said. “I’m not done yet we got more work to do!!!!”
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This year’s Summer Games will be Foluke Akinradewo’s third time competing for the U.S. And like so many moms heading to Tokyo, it will be her first as a mom.
In 2019, the volleyball player shared a video on Instagram saying she was pregnant and going for her third Olympic Games. The post included clips of Gunderson training in the gym while pregnant and talking about her pregnancy journey. She said she found out she was pregnant during her volleyball season in Japan, right before a playoff match. She gave birth to a son that same year in November.
Two months ago, Akinradewo competed for the first time with Team USA and took to Instagram to reflect on all she’s accomplished up to that point.
“For the longest time, I dreamt of becoming a mom AND a professional athlete. I’m proud to say that I am now both,” she wrote. “Thank you to all the badass mothers who came before me and showed me that it was possible, and here’s to those who will follow in our footsteps.”
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Tokyo will be Lora Webster’s fifth Paralympic Games. In 2016 at the Rio Games, the volleyball player and mother of three, helped Team USA bring home the U.S.’s first Paralympic sitting volleyball gold medal.
When not on the court, Team USA says Webster is a stay-at-home mom who juggles training, competing and motherhood.
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Softball pitcher Cat Osterman came out of retirement in 2018 to train for Tokyo. She previously won gold at the Athens Games in 2004 and silver at the Beijing Games in 2008, which was the last time softball was part of the games.
In 2016, Osterman married Joey Ashley and became a stepmom to his daughter Bracken.
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