Aliphine Tuliamuk

Aliphine Tuliamuk poses after winning the women's 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials on Feb. 29, 2020 in Atlanta. Still not yet fully coherent or comprehending, Aliphine Tuliamuk’s child is already taking after her mother in one area. She is vocal when appropriate. Reached by phone two days ahead...

TOKYO (AP) — Sometimes, her workouts on an exercise machine were cut short when Zoe started crying. Baby steps, U.S. marathoner Aliphine Tuliamuk reminded herself. Sometimes, she stayed up late when Zoe was fussy, even though she had an early morning run. Baby steps, she told herself. By taking it...

TOKYO, Japan — Update: Aliphine Tuliamuk, who was the winner of the Peachtree Road Race in 2017, competed in the women's marathon Friday evening. During the race, she suffered hip issues and had to drop out. USA Track & Field tweeted that she dropped out at 20km. "We're wishing her...

At least a dozen athletes representing Team USA at this year's Tokyo Olympics are also mothers. From Alex Morgan to Allyson Felix, women competing at the highest levels while also having children is becoming more common. But the sports world hasn't always made it easy for women who want to be moms and champions. Janet Shamlian introduces us to a marathoner and new mother, Aliphine Tuliamuk. She helped push for a big change at this year's games.

According to Tokyo-Games-bound long-distance runner Aliphine Tuliamuk, nothing is harder than 50 hours of labor — not any of the 26.2-mile races she's ever done. "At least I know where the finish line is during a marathon," she told POPSUGAR via email. Tuliamuk, whose daughter Zoe was born in January, requested that her baby accompany her to Sapporo, Japan, for the Olympic marathon event, but was originally denied. Up until recently, breastfeeding athletes were not permitted to bring their children to the Olympics. The organizing committee reversed their stance on nursing babies attending the Games as of June 30; however, Tuliamuk hasn't officially confirmed that partner Tim Gannon and Zoe will be making the trip. In theory, though, it's great news.

On a hot Sunday in Atlanta, Ga., the annual 4th of July AJC Peachtree Road Race made its triumphant return after last year’s race was cancelled due to the pandemic. The field was stacked with well-known athletes like Galen Rupp, Sara Hall, and Stephanie Bruce, and Aliphine Tuliamuk made her return to competition with her first race since winning the U.S. Olympic marathon trials and giving birth to her baby girl.

Aliphine Tuliamuk visualized the finish line of the Olympic Trials marathon long before she touched down in Atlanta in February 2020. The 32-year-old Kenyan American had won road races before, but she was the tenth seed going into this one—a long shot, or at least an underdog. She would toe the start line with more than 400 other women, hoping to finish in the top three. She’d thought about this moment for 12 years.

In November 2007, Paula Radcliffe won the New York Marathon, a mere nine months after giving birth to her first child. In 2011, Kara Goucher finished fifth at the Boston Marathon and set a new PB only 7 months after delivering her baby. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the women’s 100m at the World Championships in 2019, with her two-year-old son in the audience. While there have been many incredible stories of female athletes who have returned to sport after childbirth with great success, the reality is that many struggle during those first weeks, months and years, and are sometimes forced to choose between their athletic careers and their families. The U.S.A. Track and Field (USATF) Foundation has now committed to providing support for these women through a new grant program, with U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials winner Aliphine Tuliamuk as the first recipient of financial assistance.