With some athletes, it may come as a surprise to learn that they’re mothers or that they're planning on having kids soon.
7. MIGHT BE SOON: DANICA PATRICK
Danica Patrick is one of the world’s most famous female athletes. She’s a professional racing driver, one of the most successful women in that sport of all time. When it comes to open-wheel racing, very few are better than Danica. She’s paved the way for other women to get into the sport. Danica also markets herself superbly, hence she has widespread star appeal.
We can predict that Danica will be a mom soon. That’s because things in her life are changing. Over the past decade or so, her life’s been all about racing. Now she’s slowly making the transition into retirement.
She announced her intention to retire. Her race next month at the 2018 Indianapolis 500 is set to be her last. Things are also going swimmingly for Danica in her private life. She’s currently all loved up with American football quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. She said in 2011 to Yahoo Sports about the prospect of motherhood, “I think it is something which is probably not for me at this point and realistically, I don’t know when that point would ever be. My focus is on racing and of course I have a lot of outside interests which take up my time.” Things are changing in her life. Her opinion on motherhood has probably changed too.
6. SYDNEY LEROUX
Sydney Leroux is regarded as being one of the most beautiful women in the world. Plenty of people know her name. She’s the face of women’s soccer in the U.S. Sydney has only just gotten back onto the soccer field. At the start of 2016 Sydney announced that she was pregnant. She was playing for FC Kansas City at the time. Sydney ended up missing the entire 2016 season due to her pregnancy. She returned to the pitch in 2017 and is now with Orlando Pride.
Sydney has been with MLS player Dom Dwyer for four years. They wed in 2015 and had their little bundle of joy a year later.
As reported by Excellesports, Sydney absolutely loves being a mom: “My entire life is that baby. Before he was born, soccer was everything in my entire life. If I was in a hole, it was an awful hole. If I was doing well, it was the best. But now I have my son, and no matter what, it’s always the best. The losses suck still, but they don’t hurt as bad. I have something else, now. And I think that balance is so important. It’s what I needed.
5. LASHINDA DEMUS
Lashinda Demus is a massive name on the US athletics’ scene. Over the years new athletes have risen through the ranks and have shone. Old athletes have had their time in the limelight and have faded from memory. Not Lashinda. Lashinda’s remained a constant presence in women’s athletics. She’s been around since the early 2000s. When she graduated through the ranks to senior level, that winning mentality stuck with her. It hasn’t deserted her, even though she’s now in her 30s. Her most recent big achievement was winning a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics in the 400m hurdles. That’s one of her biggest achievements on the athletics track.
Some would say that her biggest achievement has been raising twin boys, all the while balancing motherhood with a professional athletics career.
It’s rewarding, but Lashinda hasn’t found it easy. Her twins were born in 2007. As reported by Celebrity Baby Scoop, when asked about how she does just that, trains and raises two kids, Lashinda said, “I always tell people that I’m still trying to figure it out. All I do know is that I would not be able to keep the amount of balance I do have without my other half, my husband. Time management is definitely the key.”
4. WILL BE SOON: AMANDA NUNES
Surprisingly, there are actually quite a lot of mothers competing in MMA. It’s a violent sport, and a lot of athletes choose to step away from fighting when they become parents. Either that or their career’s slow down as they begin to reassess their priorities. 29-year-old Amanda Nunes isn’t even contemplating that at the moment. The Brazilian MMA competitor is the reigning UFC Women's Bantamweight champion. She’s one of the best fighters in the industry, a fierce competitor. After some slip-ups during the initial stages of her career, Amanda has been decimating opponents with ease. She’s had a number of high-profile victories, including against Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.
Amanda lives her life to the beat of her own drum. She’s very open about pretty much everything. Amanda is openly in a very happy, loving long term relationship with Nina Ansaroff, a fighter who competes in the women's strawweight division of the UFC.
This relationship has coincided with her success in the octagon. Although Amanda hasn’t spoken on the topic of wanting to start a family, Nina has been very vocal about her wishes. She’s told MMA Junkie: “I do want a family, and that’s something that I would have to take time off for. If you’re going to tell me that I’m not going to fight in a year, I would use that year to have a child. But if you tell me we’re going to get this going, give (me) three fights in the next year? Let’s do the thing. I’m not picking one or the other at this time. I’m going to go with what it is. But in our situation, it takes planning. It’s not like a normal relationship. You know how this works these days. So, I need to know when I’m fighting next and when I’m not.”
3. SUMMER SANDERS
Summer Sanders was an American swimmer. She started swimming at the age of three. At the age of 15, she’d already gained worldwide attention. Summer went on to achieve plenty in the swimming world. The 1992 Olympic Games was her best event by far. She won four medals and broke records in the process. This generation of swimming fans probably know Summer more for her media appearances. Since calling time on her career in competitive swimming, Summer’s transitioned to life in the media. She commentates on swimming events, she’s a reported TV host, and she’s done a bit of acting too.
Summer certainly has her hands full. You’ll be able to appreciate just how full her hands are when you learn she has two kids. Summer’s been married to former world alpine ski racer, Erik Schlopy, since 2005. They’ve had two kids together, a girl and a boy, the youngest of which is ten. Summer spoke to Celebrity Baby Scoop about motherhood: “My life is the chaos of motherhood and my work, and I feel extremely lucky that I get to do both of them. I feel each role makes me better at the other. I’m sure my kids will argue, but I have an amazing support system that allows me to do a bunch of things in my life.”
2. DIDN’T KNOW: KARA GOUCHER
Kara Groucher is an American long-distance runner. Due to her achievements, she’s recognized as being one of the best in the world. Among her achievements, she was three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association champion, she’s won medals at world championships, and has competed for USA in two Olympic Games. Kara prefers competing on the road in marathon races. At the age of 39 Kara is showing no signs of slowing down. She loves competing just as much as she ever did. Retirement isn’t on her mind. That may surprise a lot of people, firstly because of her age, and due to the fact that she’s a mom. Kara fell pregnant in 2010. She took the entire season off.
After giving birth to baby Colt, she was back to competing in January 2011. She’s said speaking to RunnersWorld.com: “There are times when Colt needs to come first, and when I need to put myself first. It’s not easy and I’m always learning. This weekend is about me. Colt is here, but he’s not in my room. For me, I am happier when I am trying to achieve something, and I feel like I’m getting lost if I don’t try to achieve something. Motherhood and running makes me better at the other.”
1. WILL BE SOON: VENUS WILLIAMS
It must be tough being Venus Williams. She’s had a hugely successful career in her own right. But although she wouldn’t say as much, it must have been tough living in her younger sister’s shadow. Venus is the reason Serena got into tennis. She wanted to follow in her big sister’s footsteps. But no one anticipated that she’d go on to become a tennis phenomenon, arguably one of the greatest athletes who’s ever lived. Even when Serena took a break from the game to give birth, the spotlight was still firmly fixed on her. Venus, despite the fact she’s going to turn 38 this year, has actually been having a decent time of things in recent years.
Things are going swimmingly for her on and off the court and she hasn’t been making any noise about retiring. But it might be at the back of her mind. Things are going well for her off the court. As TennisWorldUSA reported, her love life has picked up. She’s currently dating millionaire, 25-year-old Nicholas Hammond. They’ve been dating for a while now. He even attended Serena’s wedding with Venus last year. We don’t know if Venus has kids on the mind or not. If she does, now would be the perfect time. She’s 37, and her sis has just had a kid and she’s in a happy relationship.