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There was a special section around the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village, the only place near the village where athletes with young children were instructed to take care of their children.
According to Greg Polichronidis and Katrina Polichronidis Patroni, the room had a few chairs and branches for nursing mothers. The couple, who represented Greece together in Bosia at two Paralympics, welcomed their first child in May 2021 and traveled as a family to compete in Tokyo months later.
It was small, windowless and dark, says Edina Müller, who currently represents Germany in Parakano. She breastfed her baby during the Tokyo Games.
At the time, Covid-19 restrictions meant guests – including children and carers – could not access the Olympic Village. Rigorous training schedules and GPS tracking for Covid safety have made it difficult for athletes to visit their children – if they are allowed to travel with them. Many athletes, like the Spanish synchronized swimmer Ona CarbonylThey were made to leave their nursing infants at home.
“It was very important for us to have our little one,” Patroni said. “I can't imagine how else we're going to get to Tokyo.”
For Polychronides, leaving their nursing child at home was not an option. “Either the three of us can go, or none of us,” he added.
Separately, they erupted with excitement when talking about a new addition to the Paris 2024 Olympic facilities, the first nursery for parents of Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
The Village Kindergarten, which opened last week, was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission in collaboration with the IOC and the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee. US track star and IOC Athletes' Commission member Alison Felix had a strong voice in the project sponsored by US baby care brand Pampers.
Athletes can book private or group appointments at the facility in the heart of the Village Plaza, which accommodates up to six family members. Here, they have access to private areas for breastfeeding, a family lounge for playtime and a changing station.
“We're seeing a lot of athletes continue their careers after this. [starting a family]. Personally, focusing on your dreams does not mean that you cannot be a parent and an athlete knowing that it is difficult to combine the two,” said Emma Terho, chairperson of the IOC Athletes' Commission, who competed for Finland. Hockey at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games with a little boy.
“It's important to integrate those areas of life and make it easier to support athletes on and off the field. [Parenthood] It's an important part off the field. It is important to send the message, it does not mean that your career is coming to an end. The nursery, the amount of excitement and feedback we received from the athletes shows this.
It's not just the nursery “first” For Paris 2024. The competition is the first to include carbon-neutral, gender-equal and inclusive competitions.
IOC announced Patroni, Polichronidis and Muller said the kindergarten initiative in March came after athletes expressed a need for better support to balance play and parenting. Parent athletes came together in meetings with the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee before Tokyo.
“We talk about our interests all the time,” Polychronidis said. It's very important and heartwarming to see the committees understand that you need to have your baby, not just saying, “If you want to have your baby, stay home.” This is what makes us human.
Terjo Felix, who chairs the commission, said she was a strong advocate for the importance of athletes' voices when creating a nursery.
“Feedback was coming from the athletes. We are taking the initiative and getting a lot of support from IOC departments and senior partners,” said Terho.
For Felix, an 11-time Olympic medalist and mother of two, the initiative is part of an effort to support athletes who are mothers.
In the year In 2018, Felix was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia at 32 weeks pregnant, which led to an emergency C-section and the premature birth of her daughter. She It was shared with . The hurdles she faced in motherhood and getting back on track, many of which inspired her to become a maternal health advocate, emphasized racial disparities in maternal care.
Felix created a childcare fund to support mothers of athletes in 2021 and this summer, Received A $20 million grant from the Melinda French Gates Foundation to support Black maternal health. She Partnership Partner with Pampers to donate up to 1 million preemie diapers to neonatal intensive care units across the country in July and launch the first Olympic Nursery.
“After giving birth to my daughter, I understand how difficult it is to balance the demands of parenthood and compete at the highest level,” Felix wrote in a statement to .
“The Olympic Games environment is full of complexities and pressures, and one way to provide relief is for athletes to spend time with their children and young children without leaving the athletes' village. I am thrilled to partner with Pampers to make Village Daycare a reality for athletes who continue to pursue their dreams while choosing parenthood.
The nursery is the latest step in a long and historic push to level the playing field for celebrity athletes with children. Over the years, women's voices have reached out to calls for increased shelters, including those specifically for breastfeeding mothers.
Please Olympic moms like Canada's Kim Goucher and Americans Alex Morgan and Aliphin Tuliamuk helped the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee allow parent athletes — like Polychronidis, Patroni and Muller — to bring their nursing babies to the Games that year.
“Now, I'm forced to decide between being a breastfeeding mom or an Olympic athlete. I can't have both,” Gaucher said in 2021. Instagram video. “The Japanese fans will participate, the stage will be half full, but I can't meet my son? … it's 2021. Let's normalize working moms.
Mueller, who has competed in four Paralympics and is set to compete in Paris in September, was only part of the picture when the outcry over Tokyo's child care.
Mueller in 2011 She gave birth in 2019, and was training to qualify for the Tokyo Games that year. She brought her son and caregiver to every training camp and tournament during the production process, organizing and paying for everything herself. She said the total cost was over €10,000.
“Sometimes I feel like organizing for this takes more time than my sport,” she said. “That was the hardest part.”
Mueller in 2011 When she announced her pregnancy in 2018, she received a letter congratulating her on her retirement from her training center. Partway through her pregnancy, she said she was unable to compete and lost financial support until she returned to her sport, with the new challenge of financing childcare.
“I never said I was going to retire. I planned to compete again, and my goal was to compete in the Tokyo Paralympics. That was a little disappointing,” she says. “I qualified later in the summer. No one expected it.”
Muller said it was strange to see herself being called a pioneer for female athletes.
“Five years ago I was called a pioneer in a magazine. It's not true. There are so many [mom] Pre-adapted athletes. A lot of people don't know about it because they and this subject haven't been in the media,” she said.
“Now it's us. Now, people are realizing that 'there are many of us.' But we are probably no more than before; We are more present and louder.
The obstacles that parent athletes face have been recognized by sports organizations around the world.
For Paris 2024, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee He plans to provide Additional rooms are available at the Pleyel Hotel near the village for breastfeeding mothers and families, and for parents with young children during the Paralympic Games.
The United States has national teams for volleyball, basketball, and soccer applied Practices such as paying for family travel and childcare providers. They have organizations like the Ladies Professional Golf Association Maternity support is provided For decades, it has provided services at events such as child care and a flexible maternity leave policy that ensures mothers can maintain their playing status when they return.
Muller and Terho said the advancements of generations of athletes laid the groundwork for opening the first Olympic nursery. But while daycare is new to providing support for parent athletes, it doesn't remove all barriers.
Progress has been made, Muller says — but slowly.
“There's a lot going on behind the scenes, a lot of conversations going on and a lot of people working on it. But many athletes have the same problems I had five years ago,” she said. “This system is really slow to respond.”
Muller, Polychronidis, Patroni and Terho said the nursery is a big plus.
“We are very happy that this is now done,” Terho said. “We want to receive the feedback and messages we get, so we'll continue to listen and engage with athletes on this. This is a first, so we'll have a clearer and simpler next step.”
The link between the athletes, the commission and other organizations and partners was the key to creating the incubator, a collaboration athletes and organizers will continue to plan for future Games, he said.
“We are very happy with the progress of the nursery. We hope that there will be more steps for the Olympics and Paralympics in the future,” Patroni added.
“Sports is for the family, and sports is for everyone. All must be included.