Olympics or baby? US athlete Aliphine Tuliamuk’s dilemma

Aliphine Tuliamuk, a United States marathoner and athlete at the Tokyo Olympics, competed for the gold medal in the final race of the competition. However, the race was not her biggest challenge this year. 

Tuliamuk stepped into motherhood early this year after giving birth to her first child Zoe. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions announced by the International Olympic Committee in March, nursing or breastfeeding mothers would not be allowed to get their babies along for the competition.

“I couldn’t imagine. I mean, thinking about it still makes me want to cry”, she said explaining how she felt about making the choice between providing for her baby and representing her country at the Tokyo Olympics, according to reports from CBS News.

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“If I decided not to go, what would I tell Zoe when she got older?”, she added in the statement.

However, the decision was later overturned in June 2021 by the International Olympic Committee, permitting mothers to get their babies along.

The 32-year-old also opened up about her struggles with managing her new life after giving birth to her daughter Zoe. 

When she goes to sleep, I’d put her back to bed and go back and finish a workout — even if I’m really tired and don’t feel like training anymore. I’m like, ‘I have to do this.’ At night, sleep’s not guaranteed. I have to wake up and go run, feeling like a zombie” said Tuliamuk, according to media reports from Santa Fe New Mexican.

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Tuliamuk won the 2020 US Olympic team trials in February of last year. In her most recent appearance at the world championships in 2017, she placed 15th, according to reports from CBS News.

According to media reports, Tuliamuk said that starting a family was part of her plan, however, after she had competed in the Summer Games. However, she decided to alter them due to the delay in the Tokyo Olympics due to the pandemic.