When marathon runner Aliphine Tuliamuk headed off to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she made it clear that she would not be traveling without her six-month-old daughter, Zoe.
However, the unique setup of the Games, held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the marathon taking place in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, posed a challenge for the new mother.
“I cried a lot on the bus ride to the Olympic village,” Tuliamuk recounted. “I was just watching videos of my baby and looking at her pictures. Then I got there, and I just couldn’t sleep without her.”
The heartbreaking reality hit Tuliamuk on her first night at the athletes’ village in Tokyo, where children were banned. This meant that for one night, she was separated from her baby, whom she was breastfeeding.
“The first time I ever slept without Zoe was in the village. Zoe and my husband stayed in a hotel. That was really hard,” Tuliamuk revealed. “I was so engorged. I was pumping and thinking ‘My baby is not even here with me’ – then I called them and she was crying, losing her mind because she didn’t understand why her mum is not there.”
Tuliamuk, a Kenya-born American runner, has now welcomed the new provisions for nursing mothers and child carers at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, including a dedicated space for children in the athletes’ village.
“I am just so happy that in only four years from when I couldn’t be with my baby, it’s now changed to where they have facilities for them. That is pretty incredible,” she expressed, relieved that future Olympian mothers won’t have to experience the same emotional turmoil she faced in Tokyo.
Tuliamuk’s story highlights the challenges faced by elite athletes who are also new mothers and the importance of creating inclusive and supportive environments for them to compete at the highest level while maintaining the bond with their children.
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