Why returning to sport after childbirth is tougher than it looks for triathlete mothers

Today’s sporting landscape increasingly accepts that athleticism doesn’t end when motherhood begins. High-profile athletes such as middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon and rugby player Abbie Ward have helped redefine what’s possible after giving birth.

But for most athletic mothers, the picture is far more complicated than the stories in the media suggest. Understanding those complexities is essential if women are to receive the support they need to thrive postpartum.

Triathlon, which is built on three disciplines demanding relentless training, adds an extra layer of challenge. Mastery isn’t achieved in one arena but across swimming, cycling and running. Each aspect carries its own technical and physical load.

For many women, this intersects with another critical moment. The peak performance age in triathlon often overlaps with the average age of childbirth. In the UK, most women have their first child at around 31. This is precisely when many endurance athletes are hitting their prime. When these timelines collide, returning to training and competition becomes especially complex.

Research my colleagues and I published earlier this year explored the postpartum experiences of ten triathlete mothers, from enthusiastic amateurs to world-class competitors. Their accounts reveal a largely invisible psychological journey, including shifting identities, guilt and resilience.

When expectations meet reality

Before giving birth, most of the women we interviewed expected their return to training to be straightforward. They thought they’d wait for medical clearance, rebuild gradually and carry on. But almost all described a divide between expectation and reality. Some assumed the “rules” of postpartum recovery wouldn’t apply to them, especially those used to high-performance environments.

The challenges weren’t just physical. Many were unprepared for how mentally draining early motherhood would be – the relentless tiredness, the emotional upheaval and the unpredictability of routines that made structured training challenging.

To cope, mothers became experts in efficiency, timing childcare handovers to the minute, squeezing in short but intense sessions and reshaping long-standing training habits to meet the new constraints of family life.

For many women in our study, triathlon wasn’t just a hobby, it was a core part of their identity. Motherhood enriched that identity but also complicated it. Some felt in limbo, unsure whether they could still call themselves athletes. Others found new meaning in training, seeing each hard session as evidence of strength gained rather than strength lost.

Motivation changed too. Some wanted to prove that athletic ambition doesn’t end with childbirth. Others leaned on training as an essential part of their wellbeing.

Every woman in our study encountered social pressures that shaped how they viewed their training. Guilt was ever-present – guilt for leaving children to train, guilt for not training enough, guilt for wanting something outside motherhood.

This was often tied to the “ethic of care”, which is the social expectation that mothers should put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own. Even within supportive relationships, many felt that childcare defaults to them and that their training was something that required justification.

Social media added another layer. While some drew inspiration from athlete-mothers online, many also recognised how curated these stories were. Rarely did they mention childcare support, financial resources or physical setbacks. Several mothers told us they hid their own struggles to avoid appearing negative or ungrateful.

Nearly all of the women we spoke to described exercise as central to their mental wellbeing. Several felt that continuing to be physically active made them better mothers. But training could also threaten their wellbeing. Reduced training time, physical fatigue and pressure to bounce back led some to feel frustrated. A few questioned whether it was worth continuing if they could never reach their previous performance level.

What needs to change

These stories highlight an urgent need for change across the sporting landscape. Return-to-sport pathways must be holistic, recognising psychological, identity-based and social factors, not just physical clearance. Coaches need better training on postpartum realities. Understanding emotional shifts, fluctuating motivation and identity loss could dramatically improve support for returning mothers.

Partners and families also have a role. Shared responsibility and acknowledgement of the invisible labour of motherhood are essential for sustainable training. And public narratives need greater honesty. More realistic accounts of postpartum recovery, especially on social media, could help challenge comparison culture and reduce stigma.

Triathlete mothers are challenging outdated assumptions about what women can achieve after childbirth. Their stories aren’t about superhuman feats but about navigating ambition, care and physical recovery in tandem.

Returning to sport after childbirth isn’t a simple comeback. It’s a reshaping of identity and a shifting of priorities. It’s time for the systems around them to catch up and provide support that allows these women not only to return, but to thrive.

Eleri Sian Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.