01of 10Alex MorganAlex Morgan with her daughter Charlie after the NWSL soccer match between the Orlando Pride and the NY/NJ Gotham FC on June 20, 2021, at Explorer Stadium in Orlando, Florida.Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire via GettyThe veteran U.S. women’s national soccer team player will compete in her third Olympic games this summer, her first as a mom. Morgan, who plays for Orlando Pride,welcomed daughter Charliewith husband Servando Carrasco in May 2020.
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Alex Morgan
Alex Morgan with her daughter Charlie after the NWSL soccer match between the Orlando Pride and the NY/NJ Gotham FC on June 20, 2021, at Explorer Stadium in Orlando, Florida.Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire via Getty
The veteran U.S. women’s national soccer team player will compete in her third Olympic games this summer, her first as a mom. Morgan, who plays for Orlando Pride,welcomed daughter Charliewith husband Servando Carrasco in May 2020.
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Allyson Felix
Steph Chambers/Getty
Felix holds the most medals of any American woman in Olympic track & field history; this summer, she could break or tie Carl Lewis' record of 10 medals to become the most decorated American track & field athlete in history.
“My legacy is not only on the track,” shetold PEOPLE. Felix, who welcomed her daughter Camryn in November 2018, hopes that returning to the Olympics as a mom will prove that women can continue to break records in sports after having children.
“I want things to look different for those coming after me and so that means really pushing on certain issues and really standing up for ourselves,” she said.
03of 10Quanera HayesSteph Chambers/GettyHayes came in first place in the women’s 400m at the track & field trials, securing her first Olympic appearance in Tokyo. There to celebrate the milestone achievement was her son Demetrius, whom she welcomed in October 2018.“Coming back, it was tough,” the athlete toldNBC Sportsof returning to track after giving birth. “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.”
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Quanera Hayes
Hayes came in first place in the women’s 400m at the track & field trials, securing her first Olympic appearance in Tokyo. There to celebrate the milestone achievement was her son Demetrius, whom she welcomed in October 2018.
“Coming back, it was tough,” the athlete toldNBC Sportsof returning to track after giving birth. “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.”
04of 10Mariel ZagunisMariel Zagunis/InstagramZagunis — who with four Olympic medals is the most decorated fencer in U.S. history — will make her fifth Olympic appearance in Tokyo this summer. It will also be her first as a mom — the famous sabre fencer welcomed her first child, daughter Sunday Noelle, with husband Mike Swehla in October 2017.While training for Tokyo, Zagunis toldUSA Fencingthat welcoming her daughter has given her new motivation.“I’m really excited to go to my next Olympics with her to show that anything is possible. If you put your mind to it, you can make your dreams come true. It would be a really awesome experience to have with her and our entire family and to be able to tell her someday that I went to all these Olympics and then had her and we did it together.“Families of Olympic athletes arenot currently permitted to travel to Japandue to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, thoughnursing children will be allowedto accompany their athlete mothers.
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Mariel Zagunis
Mariel Zagunis/Instagram
Zagunis — who with four Olympic medals is the most decorated fencer in U.S. history — will make her fifth Olympic appearance in Tokyo this summer. It will also be her first as a mom — the famous sabre fencer welcomed her first child, daughter Sunday Noelle, with husband Mike Swehla in October 2017.
While training for Tokyo, Zagunis toldUSA Fencingthat welcoming her daughter has given her new motivation.
“I’m really excited to go to my next Olympics with her to show that anything is possible. If you put your mind to it, you can make your dreams come true. It would be a really awesome experience to have with her and our entire family and to be able to tell her someday that I went to all these Olympics and then had her and we did it together.”
Families of Olympic athletes arenot currently permitted to travel to Japandue to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, thoughnursing children will be allowedto accompany their athlete mothers.
05of 10Skylar Diggins-SmithJordan Johnson/NBAE via GettyThe four-time WNBA all-star will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer. Diggins-Smith, who plays for Phoenix Mercury, played the 2018 season while expecting her first child, a son named Rowan “Seven” Smith, whom she welcomed in April 2019 with husband Daniel Smith.
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Skylar Diggins-Smith
Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty
The four-time WNBA all-star will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer. Diggins-Smith, who plays for Phoenix Mercury, played the 2018 season while expecting her first child, a son named Rowan “Seven” Smith, whom she welcomed in April 2019 with husband Daniel Smith.
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Aliphine Tuliamuk
Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk/Instagram
“In the future, [my daughter] will be able to look back and say, ‘My mom was able to run a marathon at the Olympics six-and-a-half months after having me,’ " TuliamuktoldOn Her Turf. “And I hope that inspires her… and other little girls and boys, too.”
07of 10Foluke GundersonFoluke Akinradewo Gunderson/InstagramGunderson will make her third appearance in the Olympics this summer, and her first as a mom. The veteran volleyball star won silver in 2012 and bronze in 2016, and welcomed son Olukayode Ayodele in 2019 with husband Jonathan Gunderson.
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Foluke Gunderson
Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson/Instagram
Gunderson will make her third appearance in the Olympics this summer, and her first as a mom. The veteran volleyball star won silver in 2012 and bronze in 2016, and welcomed son Olukayode Ayodele in 2019 with husband Jonathan Gunderson.
08of 10Cat OstermanCat Osterman/InstagramThe two-time Olympian softball pitcher came out of retirement in 2018 in order to train for Tokyo. Osterman won gold in 2004 and silver in 2008, which was the last time softball was included in the games. This year will mark Osterman and the sport’s return to the Olympics. She wed husband Joey Ashley in 2016, and became stepmom to his daughter Bracken.
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Cat Osterman
Cat Osterman/Instagram
The two-time Olympian softball pitcher came out of retirement in 2018 in order to train for Tokyo. Osterman won gold in 2004 and silver in 2008, which was the last time softball was included in the games. This year will mark Osterman and the sport’s return to the Olympics. She wed husband Joey Ashley in 2016, and became stepmom to his daughter Bracken.
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Diana Taurasi
Diana Taurasi/Instagram. Inset: Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty
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Sally Kipyego
Sally Kipyego/Instagram
“As an Athlete, I was not sure how Motherhood would play a role in my running,” she wrote inan Instagram postpromoting Nike Women. “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.”
Kipyego previously competed for Kenya at the 2012 London Olympics; this will be her first Olympic appearance for the U.S.
source: people.com
