Like A Mother: The women looking to make history at the Paris Olympics

Motherhood can have a major impact on the careers of some athletes. While some find it difficult to return to their best form, others continue to impress and dominate their sport. These mothers are in the running to win gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In 2022, France's Clarisse Agbegnenou gave birth to a daughter, per the International Judo Federation (IJF). However, the judoka, who was untouchable in her category after that, went on to win a string of titles in her 63kg weight class, becoming world champion for the sixth time in Doha in 2023. She will be the big favourite in the half-middleweight category at the next Olympics.

Nicknamed 'Mommy Rocket', Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a "sprint legend", as the BBC puts it. At 37, the double Olympic 100m champion is aiming for a third title, with her son Zion as her biggest supporter.

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Elina Svitolina is one of the few women to have made a great comeback after her maternity leave, and is currently ranked in the world's top 20 following a great 2023 season. She and her partner Gaël Monfils had a baby daughter together on October 15, 2022, as reported by Tennis 365, and will be aiming for a medal at the 2024 Olympics.

Two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500m, Faith Kipyegon is the favourite to win the 5,000m and 1,500m at the Paris Olympics. A mother of a daughter since 2018 according to the official website of the Olympics, she will be aiming for a third and fourth Olympic title in Paris 2024.

A true legend of discus throwing, the 44-year-old French athlete, runner-up in Rio in 2016, per World Athletics, will be taking part in her sixth Olympics in 2024 and will be looking to win a medal in front of her two daughters, Enora and Elyssa.

Olympic triathlon gold medallist in 2016, as we can read on her personal website, Gwen Jorgensen has set herself a new challenge: to become a marathon champion. In 2024, she will be one of the great outsiders in the race, under the watchful eyes of her six-year-old son, Stanley.

Back from maternity leave in 2022, French fencer Cécilia Berder will be looking to win another medal at the Olympics after her silver medal in Tokyo, per the International Fencing Federation (FIE).

With 17 Paralympic gold medals to her name, according to Paralympics GB, Sarah Storey is an icon of para swimming and para cycling. The mother of a little boy and an older daughter, she could continue her success in Paris this year.

If the French have any hope of a medal in weightlifting, it's thanks to Dora Tchakounté. The Frenchwoman, mother of a six-year-old boy, will be aiming for a medal after her fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games, as recorded by the Équipe de France website.

Image credit: Instagram @doratchakounte

Alex Morgan is widely regarded one of the greatest female footballers on the planet, and she's a mother. At the age of 34, Alex Morgan will be going for a second gold medal with the USA at the Paris Olympics, after winning gold in London 2012, per the official website of the Olympics. Mother of a three-year-old daughter, she will be the leader of her team after the retirement of Megan Rapinoe.

A mother of three, including twins, Helen Glover is looking like very much like a 'super-mum' for the Paris Olympics. Double Olympic rowing champion in the W2- category, she is one of the favourites for Paris 2024. She could become "the first British mum-of-three to win an Olympic medal," as the Team GB official website puts it.

Bronze medallist at the Pan-American Games in 2023, Giovanna Pedroso is one of the rare divers to be a mother. Aged 25, the Brazilian is preparing for the Olympics by looking after her little boy, as we can see on her official Instagram account. A full-time job!

A mother of two, the French boxer, bronze medallist at the last World Amateur Boxing Championships, per The Huffington Post, will be trying to fulfill her dream of winning gold in Paris in front of her home crowd.

Like Serena Williams, Elina Svitolina and Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka is a role model for all tennis players. After a long custody battle in 2017, which the Daily Mail reported on, she was forced to skip the tennis season, but the former world number 1 has come back stronger than ever and is aiming for a third Olympic medal.

Seventh in the New York marathon in 2022, per World Athletics, Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk is one of the best long-distance runners in the world. The mother of a five-year-old daughter, the American has taken compatriot Allyson Felix as an example and will be trying to do as well as her idol in Paris 2024.

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