After the year we’ve had, it’s exciting that the events that had to be postponed are now just around the corner. The Olympics, which has been around practically forever, allows us to watch and celebrate the athletes who are the best in their sport. The summer games, which are still being called the 2020 Olympics, will be hosted in Tokyo this year. It’s gearing up to be an incredible show of talent.
The athletes we want to celebrate are not only the best in the world in the sport they love, but they’re also moms. These parents prove to everyone that mothers really can do it all. That can be very empowering for kids to see – and for other parents who are feeling intimidated to continue doing what they love after having a baby. So often, that hesitation comes from finding a work-life balance, and we imagine that training to be the best in the world takes some sacrifice.
That’s not always easy – but these moms take their sport seriously, and that alone is a huge reason to celebrate their achievements. So let’s get to know the amazing moms participating in the Olympics this year.
Moms Are Taking Over the Olympics
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Gone are the days where women are overlooked in the sports world, and that’s proven with the incredible moms set to compete in the Olympics this year. Heading to Tokyo after a very challenging year and the postponement of the games last year, these parents are ones we can look up to — and our kids, too. And we can’t wait to cheer these amazing parents on!
Skylar Diggins-Smith
Caption this!#Dreamer2 pic.twitter.com/aZwlPL7Bnh
— Skylar Diggins-Smith (@SkyDigg4) May 15, 2021
Skylar Diggins-Smith is heading to the Tokyo Olympics as part of the US women’s basketball team. She’s one of the stars of the WNBA league, and she’s always proven there’s nothing a pregnant person can’t do since she played in the WNBA while she was pregnant and was back on the court pretty quickly afterward.
Skylar credits parenthood with giving her a new perspective. “I feel accomplished,” she has said to the Dallas Morning News. “I feel like everything’s into perspective for me now and things that were important to me really aren’t, so I just try not to take any moment for granted.”
Quanera Hayes
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Quanera Hayes is a track and field star who competes in the 400-meter race. She’s heading into her first Olympics and rejuvenated after welcoming a son, Demetrius, in 2018.
“Coming back, it was tough,” she told NBC Sports about getting back into running after having a baby. “It was like I had to learn how to run all over again. I couldn’t come out of [the blocks], my stride was different.”
Alex Morgan
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Alex Morgan is one of the incredibly talented soccer players who will be playing on the US soccer team in the Tokyo Olympics. She welcomed a little girl in 2020, not too long before the Olympics were originally scheduled to start. And she’s hoping to inspire her daughter to reach for her dreams.
“I had a dream when I was 7 years old of playing professional soccer, and there were absolutely no avenues to do that at the time,” she previously said to Prevention. “[My mother] encouraged me to live out my dream, so that’s what I want to pass along with Charlie.”
Mariel Zagunis
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Mariel Zagunis is a part of the US fencing team heading to Tokyo to try to add to her impressive medal collection, which includes two bronze and two gold. She’s competing this year as an individual and a team, and she’s crediting her daughter as a source of motivation.
“I’m really excited to go to my next Olympics with her to show that anything is possible,” she has told USA Fencing. “If you put your mind to it, you can make your dreams come true.”
Allyson Felix
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Some athletes are next level, and that’s the case for Allyson Felix. She holds more medals than any US woman in Olympic history, and she’s not slowing down. She’s heading into her fifth Olympics, and she’s already the holder of nine medals as part of the running team. She’s also participating in the relay team for the fourth time, and she’s going to have daughter Camryn cheering her on.
Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson
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Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson is a member of the US volleyball team, and she’s looking forward to competing in her third Olympics this year. What makes these games different than her previous ones is she’s now a mom, giving birth to her son, Olukayode Ayodele, in December 2019.
“It’s been a long and arduous journey to get back here and there were many times I debated calling it quits along the way, but I’m so glad I didn’t,” she previously shared on Instagram.
Sally Kipyego
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Sally Kipyego is a marathon runner who is gearing up to run her best time in Tokyo. She didn’t have the easiest return back to the sport after welcoming her daughter, Emma, in 2007. She fought her way back to running form after an emergency C-section and several health challenges after. But she’s ready for the challenge.
“My body is different. My body kind of fell apart after giving birth,” she previously told Runners World. “But mentally I’m stronger. … I keep telling myself, ‘You can go through childbirth, you can pretty much go through anything.’ I can take the pain better now.”
Diana Taurasi
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Diana Taurasi is a basketball superstar who is competing in the 2020 Olympics on the US basketball team. She’s not new to the Olympic scene, previously competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where she took home her fourth medal. She’s also mom to a little boy named Leo, born in 2018.
Aliphine Tuliamuk
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Aliphine Tuliamuk is a runner on the US team, and she’s one to watch this year – because it’s her first Olympic games. She’s also a proud mama to daughter Zoe, who she welcomed in January 2021.
“I was so naïve,” she previously told Women’s Running about motherhood. “I thought I’d get induced and in 12 hours I’d have my daughter. It ended up being 50 hours. That was the longest marathon I’ve ever ran.”
Cat Osterman
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Cat Osterman is a pitcher on the US Olympic baseball team who won a gold medal in the 2004 games in Athens and won a silver at the 2008 games in Beijing. She was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. Cat is a proud stepmom to 8-year-old Bracken.
Helen Glover
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Representing the UK, Helen Glover is a rowing superstar who’s no newbie to the Olympic games. She’s a holder of two Olympic gold medals, has three world titles, and is one of the most decorated athletes on the Great Britain team. She competed in the last Olympics in 2016, and what makes this games different is she’s now a mom to three.
Gwendolyn Berry
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Gwen Berry is an incredible athlete who thrives in her track and field sport, the hammer throw. Her first games was in 2012 in London where she was an alternate, but she competed for the first time in Rio 2016, where she placed 14th. She’s back again this year, and we’re sure her son, Derrick, is going to be cheering her on.
Brittney Reese
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Brittney Reese is a track and field athlete who specializes in long jump. She’s competed in several Olympics in the past, including Beijing in 2008, London in 2012, and Rio in 2016. Brittney already holds two medals — a gold and a silver — for her past games. She’s the proud mama of a little one named Alex.
Malindi Elmore
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Malindi Elmore is representing Canada at this year’s Olympic games. She’s a track and field athlete who has been making waves since she hit the scene. She holds the record in Canada for the marathon, clocking in at a cool 2:24:50. She’s also a mom to two kids, Charlie and Oliver, with her Olympian husband.
