“A lot of women have children, and they come back and somehow they run and they’re fantastic,” she said after making the U.S. Olympic team. “That was not my story. My body fell apart. I got sick all the time. I couldn’t even put together a month of training without getting fatigued.”
Kipyego eventually trained in her native Kenya where she sustained a 5:13 per mile average at altitude, and was ready to take on Tokyo, representing Team USA.
In addition to her 3-year-old daughter Emma, Kipyego shared on Instagram last month that another young girl named Jerop has recently joined their family.
Aliphine Tuliamuk — Track & Field
New mom Aliphine Tuliamuk is headed to Tokyo with her 6-month-old daughter Zoe in tow after petitioning the International Olympic Committee on behalf of breastfeeding moms.
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The IOC’s decision to bar international spectators, was devastating for all of the athletes competing on the World Stage in Tokyo. But for Tuliamuk, who gave birth to Zoe in December 2020, the decision meant choosing between being an Olympian and being a mother.
In June, after Tuliamuk submitted a petition, the Tokyo 2020 organizers announced that breastfeeding athletes will now be able to bring their babies to the 2020 games along with a caretaker for the child.
“Thank you to IOC and the host country of Japan for making sure that nursing moms didn’t have to choose between their babies and their careers,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
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At just six months postpartum, Tuliamuk will be competing at the highest level in Tokyo, taking on the 10,000 meter (marathon).
“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,’” Tuliamuk told On Her Turf in April. “And I hope that inspires her… and other little girls and boys, too.”
Alex Morgan — Soccer
While a postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games certainly threw a kink in most athletes’ plans, it was a welcome delay for Team USA striker, Alex Morgan. The 32-year-old gave birth to her daughter Charlie in May 2020, just two months before the Tokyo Games were originally scheduled for.
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One year later, Morgan is making her third Olympic appearance in Tokyo, seeking her second Olympic gold medal. She’s the fifth US Women’s National Team player to make an Olympic roster after giving birth.
Morgan took to Instagram earlier this month with a photo of her snuggling Charlie.
“I’m going to miss my baby girl so much this month,” she captioned the post. “Charlie girl, I’ll make it worth it!”
Foluke Gunderson — Volleyball
Returning to the Olympic Games for a fourth time, Foluke Gunderson is competing as a mom for the first time.
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After winning silver in 2012 and bronze in 2016, Gunderson gave birth to son Olukayode “Kayode” Ayodele in late 2019.
The 33-year-old is one of four returning Olympians on this year’s U.S. women’s volleyball team. Collectively, the team is hoping to strike Gold for the first time ever in Tokyo.
Skylar Diggins-Smith — Basketball
Making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, Skylar Diggins-Smith has already made her mark on the court as a mom. After playing the 2018 season while pregnant, Diggins-Smith gave birth in April 2019 to her son, Rowan “Seven” Smith.
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Diana Taurasi — Basketball
Joining Skylar Diggins-Smith on the court in Tokyo is another mom, Diana Taurasi. After winning her fourth Olympic medial in Rio, Taurasi became a mom. Her wife and two-time Olympic silver medalist for Australia, Penny Taylor, gave birth to the couple’s son Leo in 2018.
Heading into her fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo, Taurasi, along with long-time Team USA teammate Sue Bird, could become the first basketball players in history to win five Olympic gold medals. The U.S. women’s basketball team has their sights set on a seventh straight gold medal.
Mariel Zagunis — Fencing
The most decorated U.S. fencer in history, Mariel Zagunis is making her fifth Olympic appearance in Tokyo this summer, but her first as a mom.
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After taking home bronze in Rio, Mariel gave birth to her daughter Sunday Noelle in October 2017. She says that having a daughter is now her biggest motivation.
The 36-year-old has been outspoken about gender equality in her sport. Despite fencing being one of the original sports in the Olympic Games since 1896, Women were only just allowed to compete in the sport for the first time in 2004.
Cat Osterman — Softball
With the return of softball to the Olympic sports roster this summer 13 years after being dropped from the Games, U.S. team member Cat Osterman has her sights set on gold.
The 38-year-old competed in the 2004 Olympics where she won gold, and the 2008 Olympics, taking home silver. She retired in 2015 and later married her husband, Joey Ashley, and became stepmom to Bracken.
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With Softball being reintroduced to the Summer Games in Tokyo, Osterman came out of retirement, and will compete as one of the fifteen members of the Team USA softball team.