Bad-Ass Heptathlete Competes In Olympic Trials While 18 Weeks Pregnant
Flach displayed her baby bump and announced she’d be competing at four months preggers
Never, ever, underestimate a woman with a mission. Nothing stops us from striving to succeed. With an eye on the prize and a middle finger to the patriarchy, women get stuff done. And so it is with Lindsay Flach, a competitor in the heptathlon (that’s SEVEN events) at this year’s U.S. Olympic trials, when she posted a pregnancy announcement on her Instagram page.
“The secret is no secret anymore,” she wrote on Instagram. “Every story has an end but in life every end is a new beginning.”
For those of us whose idea of exercising is shaking the bag of microwave popcorn to distribute the butter, a heptathlon consists of seven events that are among the most demanding in track and field: 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter sprint, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run.
On Sunday, facing record heat at the track facility in Eugene, Oregon, officials postponed the day’s events until the cooler temps of the evening. Mama-to-be Flach competed in every event and finished 100 meters of the 800-meter run.
In participating in Sunday’s competition, Flach joined a growing list of women who have competed while pregnant. After Serena Williams won the Australian Open in 2017, she revealed she was pregnant.
Williams’ openness helped women in sports defy societal expectations about their bodies. In addition, she helped bring attention to other athletes who had done the same before.
Flach’s Instagram announcement comes after the athlete posted an inspirational post about showing up to work out.
“Breath. [You’re] about to run this hill you drove 20 minutes one way to get to. It will be over before you know it. Yes, it will be hard BUT [it] Will be worth it! You will be glad you did it,” Flach captioned her post.
“Breath. You drove 35 minutes to find a high jump mat,” the heptathlete continued. “You have a speed endurance workout after. Yes it will test you mentally BUT your going to kill it. Yes I have to talk myself to get to where I’m going and to get through what I’m going through.”
“I very much dislike excuses. I spent 40 minutes in car to run hills 😬 some people won’t even walk outside [their] house and do a workout or for that matter stay in there house to move the body to be healthy!”
“Heck you hurt, your gonna hurt when you start working out BUT after sticking with it you will be a much better you and hurt in a good way,” Flach ended her post.” “No excuses today or any day!”
