In 2014, two-time World Championships bronze medalist Alysia Montaño stunned the world when she competed in the 800-meter race at the USA Nationals while eight months pregnant.
The images of her running with her baby bump went viral, earning widespread applause. But behind the public celebration was a private crisis.
Nike, her sponsor at the time, paused her deal when she revealed her pregnancy. Later, ASICS slashed her pay and eventually cut ties altogether.
“I had my pay rescinded,” Montaño revealed.
“The sponsor was done. They wanted somebody who was more ‘dedicated’ to their craft. What’s more dedicated than winning after the fact and keeping myself healthy during my pregnancy?”
The Unseen Battle Behind the Track
In a recent episode of Redefined with Leslie & Arielle, Montaño opened up about her post-childbirth reality. She spoke about hiring babysitters to join her at the track, breastfeeding between training sessions, and burning through savings to stay afloat in a sport that didn’t know how to accommodate mothers.
“That was never seen,” she said.
“It wasn’t just about training. It was about survival.”
And the physical challenges of pregnancy and childbirth were nothing compared to the professional barriers.
“Women are dismissed, undervalued, or erased from opportunities they’ve earned, just because motherhood is now on their resume,” Montaño said.
Not an Isolated Story
Montaño’s experience isn’t unique. Other world-class athletes have faced similar injustices.
In a recent report by Chase Athletics, Allyson Felix, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, encountered her own battle in 2018. While negotiating a new contract with Nike during her pregnancy, Felix requested maternity protections to safeguard her earnings and status postpartum. Nike declined and offered her a contract with a staggering 70% pay cut.
“If I, one of Nike’s most marketed athletes, couldn’t secure these protections, who could?” Felix said in an interview with Access Hollywood.
She eventually walked away, signing with Athleta, a brand that provided full maternity support.
Distance runner Kara Goucher faced the same uphill fight. After giving birth in 2010, Nike suspended her pay until she returned to racing. Pressured, Goucher competed in a half-marathon just three months postpartum, an experience that left her with chronic hip injuries and lasting regret.
“Returning so quickly was a bad choice for me,” she reflected.
“Looking back, knowing I wasn’t the kind of mother I wanted to be, it’s gut-wrenching.”
A Culture in Need of Change
Motherhood is a blessing, not a liability. Yet, in elite sports, it’s too often treated like a deal-breaker. Athletes like Montaño, Felix, and Goucher didn’t just fight competitors on the track, they battled sponsors, contracts, and outdated mindsets that saw motherhood as incompatible with peak performance.
Yes, in 2019, brands like Nike updated their maternity policies, offering 18 months of protection for pregnant athletes. But policy changes alone won’t fix a culture that continues to ask women to choose between medals and motherhood.
Montaño understands that now more than ever.
“If people don’t hear this part of the story, the narrative would be, ‘At least she came back and won, and then she left.’ And that’s not what happened.”
A New Chapter for Athlete Moms
Today, at 39, Montaño’s mission is bigger than medals. Through her advocacy organization, &Mother, she’s fighting to ensure that the next generation of athlete moms won’t face the same battles in silence.
“Wanting to do right by my family, wanting to do right by myself, if I don’t come out and share this story, we’ll have ten more generations of women walking into the same wall I did.”
Her voice, once subdued by contracts and expectations, is now a megaphone for truth. Alysia Montaño’s legacy is breaking down barriers for those who come after her.
