Olympic champion opens up about how her toughest track event didn’t ready her for the challenges of motherhood. Apparently, motherhood is even tougher than running the 400m sprint! While this might sound silly initially, when it comes from a 4x Olympic gold medalist things get serious.

Recently, the 39-year-old US track and field athlete sat down with Dovile Kilty of Lithuania. During their discussion, the duo delved into various aspects of life, motherhood being one. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, both the athletes touched on the struggles of being a mother. 

39-year-old Olympic champion reflects on motherhood

Sanya Richards Ross is one of the modern-day greats when it comes to track and field. Her performance in the 2004, 2008, & 2012 Olympics made her a force to be reckoned with. Conversing with Dovile Kilty, she asked her which was harder- motherhood or being a professional athlete. 

Without batting an eye, Kilty voted for motherhood. Hearing her answer, Richards nodded and said, “I ran the 400m. Which was the hardest event on the track and it STILL didn’t prepare me for motherhood.” Kilty, who is a mother of a seven-year-old son, specified him as her top priority over anything else. Needless to say, Richards chimed in saying that being a mother has a lot of emotions at stake.

She even went on to say that making the right decisions for one’s children is much more important than winning an Olympic gold. The 39-year-old also added that watching a child grow up to be a great human being and achieve success is every mother’s dream. As their discussion continued, it soon took a turn where the duo were discussing leaving their children for work. This is where Richards used the term “mommy guilt”. Surprisingly enough, both athletes admitted to going through such guilt-ridden phases at different points in their lives. 

Sanya Richards Ross faces mommy guilt

Delving deep into the matter, Richards said that the hardest part for her was to travel without her son. As her son was just a couple of months old, the 4x Olympic gold medalist did not want to spend time away from him. Reiterating the point, Kilty also admitted to experiencing the same emotions.

She stated that even though her son was quite grown up, Kilty still felt guilty about leaving her son for training. Kilty concluded by saying, “Track is easy! When you have baby…when you come to the track, it’s nothing.” Do you think motherhood is harder than pursuing professional sports? Let us know in the comments below. 

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