Heptathlete Lindsay Flach is in news for choosing to compete in the final weekend of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials while being 18 weeks pregnant. The competitor who appeared in the heptathlon event sporting a growing baby bump, finished a distant last among the 15 women who made it through all seven events of the competition. However, her participation this past weekend is being seen as a victory in itself.
The 31-year-old athlete had shared the news about participating in the trials while being pregnant on Instagram, with the caption, “Every story has an end but in life, every end is a new beginning." “The secret is no secret anymore,” she wrote on Instagram.
Flach took part in the women's heptathlon event at the trials. On Monday, she also posted a video from the two-day heptathlon competition where she participated in severely hot conditions. But it was not enough to stop Flach from taking part as the determined woman completed the 100 meters heat with a timing of 16.28 seconds. While she finished last in the event, her resilience was what was appreciated by all those present. Flach, who has previously competed in heptathlons at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic trials, made it through 1.54 meters in the high jump event to finish 16th in the table. Following this, she completed 200m in 28.32 seconds, which was followed by pulling off 3.61 meters in long jump. She couldn't finish the 800m event and had one disqualified throw in javelin throw. She did, however, make a successful attempt of 11.97 meters in shot put, a report by the HuffPost claimed. Overall, Flach finished 15th out of the 18 athletes who had competed with her on Sunday.
Flach may not have made it to the Tokyo Olympics but she certainly earned cheers during the two-day women's heptathlon event. The 2020 season was supposed to be her farewell to the heptathlon, but she has grown to love the sport over the past decade. She was hoping to chase an elusive spot on the US Olympic team one final time before marrying her longtime boyfriend and starting a family together. “It was bittersweet,” she told Yahoo Sports. “I was really excited because I’ve always wanted kids, but it was also a shock knowing that just like that, my track career was over.”
The soon-to-be-mom has now joined a growing list of female athletes who have participated in elite competition while being pregnant. In 2017, Serena Williams shed light on the experience after revealing she was pregnant when she won the Australian Open that year.
The Heptathlon is a mix of seven events — 100m, High Jump, 200m, Shot Put, Javelin Throw, Long Jump, and 800m.
Feature Image Credit: Fast Women/Twitter
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