NC Family Staff | July 24, 2024 | SHARE: 
This week is the beginning of the 2024 Olympics, and this year, they are welcoming a new group of people to the Olympic Village: children. All-star sprinter Allyson Felix, the most decorated track-and-field athlete in history, has teamed up with Pampers to make this possible. This nursery will allow parent athletes to spend time with their children while also competing.
“It is very helpful for both parents and infants to be able to spend time together, especially at such an important moment in an athlete’s sporting life,” shares IOC (International Olympic Committee) Athletes’ Commission Chair Emma Terho.
Felix, who is not competing in the Olympics this year for the first time in 20 years, is committed to advocating for athlete moms. “I just knew how difficult it was to compete at the top level after I had my daughter, and some practical things were really hard. And so when I joined the Athletes Commission of the IOC, I really wanted to be that voice for athlete moms, and just take away one less thing for them to worry about in the pressure of competition,” she said.
She adds, “I think it really tells women that you can choose motherhood and also be at the top of your game and not have to miss a beat.”
Athletes get so little support if they decide to start a family that many women have hid their pregnancies and return to competition as soon as they can after giving birth. Pregnant athletes have lost significant portions of sponsorships and prize money, and even salaried athletes have taken a pay cut while pregnant. These are just some of the pressures that athletes face when it comes to balancing their career with their family.
Women like Allyson Felix and Serena Williams have shown that starting a family does not mean the end of an athletic career. Both of them, along with many others, have had very successful careers after having children. Hopefully this nursery will be the first of many steps in a pro-family direction that supports athletes as they pursue parenting along with their sport.
In an era where women are told to put themselves and their careers before a family and childbearing, it is encouraging to see an effort that supports women to enter into motherhood while also using their God given athletic skills.
