Former European 800m winner Lynsey Sharp wants to show her baby that a mother can still “achieve amazing things” after giving birth.
Sharp and her partner, Andrew Butchart, the 2016 Olympic 5,000m finalist, are having a child later this year.
Reflecting on motherhood and athletics on Scotland’s Drivetime Show, Sharp said: “There have been enough athletes in the last few years that have shown it’s possible to do both.”
She continued: “It’s not the end of my running career at all. I want to bring a child into the world and be able to show them that a mum can have a child and can come back and achieve amazing things.
“I definitely want to come back for a couple of years. Focusing on a family doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to other goals in your life.”
Sharp’s story is in stark contrast to a BBC survey carried out last year, which examined the experiences of female British athletes.
The survey showed that around 4% of the 537 respondents had abortions because they felt a baby would negatively affect their career as an athlete. Over one-third of respondents (36 per cent) said that they did not feel supported enough by their club to have a baby and return to work. 184 respondents said they had delayed their wishes to start a family due to their sporting careers.
In 2019, Nike cut female athletes’ pay due to early pregnancy and early maternity. Several US runners, including Alysia Montano, Phoebe Wright and Kara Goucher, took part in a video for the New York Times in which they accused Nike’s sponsorship deals of discriminating against mothers.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Being both a mother and a successful athlete should not be an impossible dream in Britain in 2021.
“Women should be supported in their careers. Britain’s sports scene is prosperous and lucrative. It is only fair that it empowers female athletes by enabling them to be mothers as well.
“Last year, actress Michelle Williams, in a Golden Globes acceptance speech, implied that she would not have won her award if she had not aborted a baby, as SPUC reported on at the time.
Lynsey Sharp is to be congratulated for pushing back against this corrosive narrative – one that has led to more abortions – that women with children cannot be successful in their careers. They can but only if we push back against the pro-abortion culture.”
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