Athletes will put everything aside during the Olympics to work toward their sporting ambitions — but for many Olympians who are also parents, they must juggle their caretaking duties with competing on the world's largest sporting stage.
British rower Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne resorted to raising more than $5,000 on GoFundMe to go to Paris "as a full-time mom." So did Dutch table tennis player Britt Eerland, who gave birth to her daughter in March 2023.
"This campaign aims to show the world that motherhood and elite sports can coexist," Eerland said on her GoFundMe page. "By supporting me, we're championing the message that mothers can pursue their dreams and excel at the highest levels."
In previous years, some athletes were forced to make the impossible choice between the competition and their child. Eleven-time Olympic medalist Allyson Felix set out to change that in Paris.
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The track and field star drove the establishment of a nursery in the Olympic and Paralymic Village Plaza through her role on the IOC's Athletes' Commission. Despite women having competed in the Olympics since 1900, there has never been a nursery at the Games before. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village, breastfeeding mothers were directed to a small, dark and windowless room with a few chairs, according to CNN.
The nursery, provided by the IOC and Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, gives athletes a space to spend time with their young children. It includes a play area, a private breastfeeding space, changing facilities and access to products from Pampers, which Felix partnered with.
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Felix is the most decorated Olympic track and field athlete in history, but she is also a mother of two. In 2018, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening pregnancy complication that required an emergency C-section, resulting in her daughter, Camryn, being born prematurely.
Felix went on to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, winning both a gold and bronze.
"I had the experience of coming back to competition with my daughter, and it was really challenging," Felix said to NBC Olympics. "You're so far from home, and it's really difficult to bring your family."
The nursery is a product of the hard lessons Felix learned, from navigating how to feed her baby in the stadiums to finding someone to watch her during races. The nursery is meant to be a space where "families can get away from it all and have some of the comforts of home," she said. "It's meant to feel like home."
"Many athletes are balancing their sporting careers and family," IOC Athletes' Commission Chair Emma Terho said in a statement. "I know how this feels as I competed at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games as a mother with a young child. Pregnancy and motherhood are a natural path in life, and it doesn’t have to mean a career end for female athletes."
Five-time Olympic cycling gold medalist Laura Kenny, whose son was three when she competed at the Tokyo Games in 2020, said the nursery in Paris will be an "amazing resource" for athletes who are also parents.
New Zealand rowers Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors are two of those Olympians who may use the nursery. Both gave birth about two years ago and are relying on their parents and partners to take care of their children during the Games.
“You sort of just realize how much of a privilege it is to be able to represent your country and bring your kids along for the ride,” Francis told the Associated Press.
