Once seen as incompatible with a career in competitive sport, motherhood is now being embraced by Olympian mums across various disciplines, including judo, fencing, and basketball. These athletes are proving that old stereotypes are giving way to new norms, where competing at the highest level and raising children go hand in hand.
A significant step in this cultural shift is the establishment of a first-of-its-kind nursery for athlete parents and their children, set up by retired track star Allyson Felix in partnership with Pampers. Felix, the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history with 11 medals, believes the nursery can help level the playing field for athletes with varying resources. “We’re talking about athletes from countries that can be very small, can be underfunded. And we know how expensive it is,” said Felix, who returned to competition after giving birth to her first child in 2018.
Felix highlighted the progress since she parted ways with sponsor Nike five years ago after the company cut her pay when she got pregnant. “There’s been a shift in culture,” she said, noting that the nursery reflects a growing need for resources at the Games as athletes challenge old stereotypes about working mothers in sports. “It’s being viewed differently… Now you’re seeing women who feel like at the peak of their careers, they can have children if they choose to and that doesn’t mean that they are going to stop competing.”
This shift is evident in Lille, where U.S. basketball player Breanna Stewart observed an increase in the number of children within her delegation. “Speaking for moms, especially those that are here in the Olympics, we want to be great at both,” said Stewart, a competitor in her third Olympics. “We just want to continue to change the standard, change the narrative.” Stewart, whose daughter Ruby was born via surrogacy shortly after the U.S. team won gold in Tokyo, is celebrating Ruby’s third birthday at the Games. She and her wife, retired Spanish basketball player Marta Xargay, also have a son named Theo.
Fans in Paris have welcomed the sight of athlete mothers competing at the highest levels. French fan Auriane Sanchez, 21, praised the change, saying, “Careers don’t stop when you have a baby, and that is beautiful.” Sanchez was particularly inspired by Clarisse Agbegnenou, who won bronze in judo after giving birth to her daughter in 2022. Agbegnenou led a campaign to secure hotel rooms for breastfeeding athletes on the French Olympic Committee. “That’s incredible to come back like this after a pregnancy. A little girl that I’m still breastfeeding – that’s crazy. I can be proud of me. I’ll put the medal around my daughter’s neck,” she said.
Brazilian judoka Natasha Ferreira, who adopted her son seven years ago, also expressed gratitude for the support she received in Paris. “Athletes already have to be very disciplined, and when you have a son, you will have to be even more disciplined to have quality time,” she said. “It was really good to have my son with me in the Olympics.”
These stories of Olympian mothers underscore a significant cultural shift, proving that motherhood and elite athletic performance can coexist, inspiring future generations of athletes.
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