Meet seven Olympic mothers who have brought their little ones squarely into the picture at this year’s games.
Nada Hafez. Photo: Getty
Working motherhood isn’t always easy – especially in places that tend to provide a substandard social safety net to parents. But at the 2024 Paris Olympics, organizers have made specific accommodations to help athletes with children give their all without sacrificing the needs of their family. Indeed, seven-time Olympic champion Allyson Felix helped create the Games’s first-ever nursery this year in partnership with Pampers, telling Vogue France recently that she’s already seen the impact of the project: “Athletes are making great use of it and are already asking when we will be able to expand the project and have an even larger family space.” (For what it’s worth, the parents of Olympians have also been given the spotlight these last few weeks, with Noah Lyles’s mum, Jordan Chiles’s mum, and Stephen Nedoroscik’s mum among the social media stars of the Paris Games.)
Of course, Felix, who shares two children with husband Kenneth Ferguson, is one of many Olympic mothers leaving her legacy on the games. Below, find a round-up of seven Olympic mothers who have brought their little ones squarely into the picture.
Nada Hafez
This 26-year-old Egyptian fencer competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics while seven months pregnant with her first child, referring to herself as “carrying a little Olympian.” (Are you crying? Because we’re crying.) “My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional,” Hafez wrote on Instagram. “The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it.”
Clarisse Agbégnénou
This French judoka is mum to baby Athéna, who was on hand to see Agbégnénou take home a bronze medal last week. “I won’t stop here,” Agbégnénou promised after her win, and clearly, neither will her legacy of setting an example for working mothers in France and around the world. “I want women athletes who follow me to feel free and legitimate, to break codes to change mentalities and change the rules. We can have a life as a woman and mother as well as champion at the same time,” she told Le Parisien before her win.
Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors
Women’s double sculls gold medalists Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors of Team New Zealand on day 10 of the Paris Olympics. Photo: Getty
Minutes after this New Zealand rowing team won gold at the 2024 Paris Games, they were picking up their kids (who were born just a few months apart) to celebrate with a cuddle. “Raising kids isn’t easy,” Francis said at the time. “It takes a village, and we’ve had that whole village behind us this whole way. It only makes [it] that much more special. Even just the fact that our families are here, let alone our kids, and our kids get to see this legacy now.”
Brittney Griner
Griner is possibly the newest parent on this list, as she and her wife, Cherelle, only welcomed their baby boy, Bash, a month ago, on 8 July. Griner noted that heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics wasn’t an easy decision – “It kind of sucks because I have to leave, but at the same time he’ll understand,” she said recently on a podcast – but hopefully, Team USA’s place in the Olympic quarterfinals is helping to sweeten the deal.
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka of Team Japan during a training session ahead of the Paris Games. Photo: Getty
While this extremely decorated tennis star fell to Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the first round of the women’s singles competition at the Paris Games, she’s got the biggest win of all waiting for her at home: Osaka’s one-year-old daughter, Shai. Last year, shortly after Shai’s arrival, Osaka told Vogue that her most anticipated aspect of parenthood was “…just growing together. Going through life together.”
Breanna Stewart
This Team USA power forward is more than just a star on the basketball court; in addition to playing for the New York Liberty, Stewart (nicknamed “Stewie”) is married to former WNBA and EuroLeague professional basketball player Marta Xargay Casademont, with whom she shares two children, Ruby Mae Stewart-Xargay and Theo Josep Stewart Xargay. “Ruby and Theo and Marta, the whole gang will be coming to Paris,” Stewart said of her family back in June, adding: “I’m excited to kind of have everyone be a part of it and enjoy the fun with me.” I hope this sweet family got plenty of stuffed Ellies as baby presents!
Originally published on Vogue.com
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