As If Being A Mother Isn't Hard Enough, Here Are 18 Moms Competing In The Tokyo Olympics

"Strong enough to bear the children, then get back to business."

1. Allyson Felix

Steph Chambers / Getty Images

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

Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

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

Brad Smith / Getty Images

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

Instagram: @kgaucher

Team: Canada

Sport: Basketball

Position: Shooting guard

Olympic Medal(s): N/A

Canadian basketball player Kim Gaucher made international news when she shared on Instagram she would not be permitted to bring her 3-month-old daughter, Sophie, to Tokyo. "Right now, I'm being forced to decide between being a breastfeeding mom or an Olympic athlete. I can't have them both." Fortunately, Gaucher didn't have to make a choice between her daughter and her sport. The International Olympic Committee announced nursing mothers would be allowed to bring their babies to Tokyo. Kim responded to the decision on Instagram, "We are so thankful and super pumped to be able to continue nursing Sophie at Tokyo.”

5. Lora Webster

Instagram: @lora.webster

Team: USA

Sport: Sitting Volleyball

Position: Middle Blocker

Olympic Medal(s): One gold, two silvers, one bronze

Lora Webster is a mother to three children and is currently pregnant with her fourth while competing in the Tokyo Olympics! She shared the news on her Instagram, "With my family and [USA Womens Sitting Volleyball] supporting me, the goal of GOLD remains the same. This baby is just along for the ride."

6. Sally Kipyego

Instagram: @sallykipyego

Team: USA

Sport: Track and Field

Event(s): 10,000-meter, Marathon

Olympic Medal(s): One silver

Olympic silver medalist Sally Kipyego finished second in the 2016 NYC Marathon, and later found out she was pregnant during the race. Kipyego gave birth to her daughter Emma in 2017 and is ready to run the marathon in Tokyo just four years later. “I keep telling myself, ‘You can go through childbirth, you can pretty much go through anything.’ I can take the pain better now," Kipyego told Runner's World.

7. Mandy Bujold

instagram.com / Via Instagram: @gary_heuvel

Team: Canada

Sport: Boxing

Event(s): Women's flyweight

Olympic Medal(s): N/A

Despite being ranked eighth in the world for her weight class, boxer Mandy Bujold was essentially disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics for having a baby. When the coronavirus delayed the games, Mary's plan to give birth was no longer timed with the Olympic cycle. Bujold was on maternity leave for a qualifying event and the I.O.C. would not consider Bujold's pre-baby ranking. Mandy appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won, making her the first female Canadian boxer to compete in two consecutive Olympics.

8. Brittney Reese

Christian Petersen / Getty Images

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

Instagram: @naomi_folkard

Team: Great Britain

Sport: Archery

Event(s): Women's individual, Women's team

Olympic Medal(s): N/A

Naomi Folkard gave birth to a baby girl in February. However, because of travel restrictions for families of Olympians due to the coronavirus, this British archer began stocking the freezer with 80 bottles of her breast milk in preparation for the Tokyo games. "I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I don't think having a baby should be able to impact that," Folkard shared with Reuters.

10. Skylar Diggins-Smith

Julio Aguilar / Getty Images

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

Instagram: @mariel.zagunis

Team: USA

Sport: Fencing

Event(s): Individual, Team

Olympic Medal(s): Two golds, two bronzes

Mariel Zagunis is no stranger to the Olympics. She's fenced professionally for over 20 years and was the first American to take home a gold medal for the sport in a century. Toyko will be her first Olympics since giving birth to her daughter in 2017. “It’s something I wanted to do for myself, but also to set an example for my daughter and for other young women, young girls also who don’t need to choose between being a professional athlete and being a mom," Zagunis shared with TeamUSA.

12. Quanera Hayes

Steph Chambers / Getty Images

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

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

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

Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/kaleomaclay/?hl=en

Team: USA
Sport: Sitting Volleyball

Position: Setter

Olympic Medal(s): One gold, one silver

Tokyo will be Kaleo Kanahele Maclay's first Olympic games as a mother, after bringing home a silver medal in London and a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. Maclay revealed to Us Weekly how large of a sacrifice it will be to leave her 3-year-old son, Duke, behind to compete. “We’re going to be gone for about three weeks. So, it’s just the longest I’ve been away from him, but I’m really excited."

15. Cat Osterman

Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/catosterman/?hl=en

Team: USA

Sport: Softball

Position: Pitcher

Olympic Medal(s): One gold, one silver

Cat Osterman is one of the best softball pitchers of all time and she's heading to Tokyo with two Olympic medals under her belt. In 2016, she married golf coach Joey Ashley and became stepmother to their daughter, Bracken. Osterman spoke with Romper about motherhood, "It motivates you to be a good role model, a good example,"

16. Aliphine Tuliamuk

Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/aliphine/?hl=en

Team: USA

Sport: Track and Field

Event(s): Marathon

Olympic Medal(s): N/A

Aliphine Tuliamuk gave birth to her daughter, Zoe Cherotich Gannon, in January 2021. She was relieved to be able to travel to Japan with her nursing baby. Tuliamuk shared her gratitude on Instagram, "Thank you to I.O.C. and the host country of Japan for making sure that nursing moms didn’t have to choose between their babies and their careers."

17. Helen Glover

Instagram: @helenglovergb

Team: Great Britain

Sport: Rowing

Event(s): Women's coxless pair

Olympic Medal(s): Two golds

Helen Glover shares three children under the age of 3 with her husband, Steve Backshall. Glover won gold in London and Rio de Janeiro, but took a prolonged break from the sport to raise her kids. "A year ago, I couldn’t have dreamt I’d be getting on the plane to Japan to compete in my third Olympics," she shared on Instagram. "Four years out of the sport, three babies later and I’m getting on this flight thanks to so many people."

18. Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson

Instagram: @folukea

Team: USA

Sport: Volleyball

Position: Middle Blocker

Olympic Medal(s): One bronze

Olympic volleyball player Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson recently became a mother in 2019. "I think the juggle of having an infant and trying to come back to Olympic level is no small feat," Gunderson said in an interview with NBC. She believes no one should have to make a choice between raising a family and performing as a world-class athlete.