Breastfeeding athletes allowed to bring babies to Tokyo Games

Canadian basketball player Kim Gaucher who is breastfeeding her infant daughter has won in her quest to bring the baby to the Tokyo OlympicsThe International Olympic Committee says nursing mothers will now be allowed to bring their babies to Tokyo The move comes after Gaucher made an emotional plea via Instagram to have 3monthold Sophie travel with her to the GamesGaucher a 37yearold from Mission British Columbia said the IOC was forcing her to make a tough choice skip the Olympics or spend 28 days in Tokyo without her daughterWe very much welcome the fact that so many mothers are able to continue to compete at the highest level including at the Olympic Games the IOC said Wednesday in a statementWe are very pleased to hear that the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee has found a special solution regarding the entry to Japan for mothers who are breastfeeding and their young childrenThe IOC had stipulated that no family could travel to Tokyo due to Covid19 restrictions but Gaucher pointed out that international media and sponsors may travel to Tokyo and a capped number of Japanese spectators will be allowed in venuesAlso ReadTriple gold now for Devendra JhajhariaJapanese fans are going to be in attendance the arenas are going to be half full but I will not have access to my daughter Gaucher askedWeve tried appeals Everyone says theyre on board but nobody can do anything Lets see if we can make a difference Its 2021 Lets make working moms normal Gaucher said that she heard the news from her husband Wednesday morning as she was at training camp in FloridaIm incredibly happy and very thankful for all the people who fought for this and helped out with this Gaucher saidThere can be moments of frustration but I think womens sports is evolving and sometimes it takes a little bit of time for everyone to get on the same page Im happy that this decision has been made The right decision for women in sports and we can move forwardThe new policy affects other athletes who have qualified for Tokyo including US soccer star Alex Morgan whose daughter Charlie was born in May 2020 and has been able to accompany her mother on the roadMorgan told reporters in April that it was important to allow mothers the option to have their kids with them while they compete if a child is under 1 or 2 they might still be breastfeeding so thats a huge piece of it Gaucher and Morgan will both be competing in their third Olympics in TokyoAlso ReadHard to stay away from son at Olympics SaniaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever