Pregnant running star Jess Trengove’s Olympic ambition
Aussie distance runner Jess Trengove hasn’t given up on qualifying for next year’s Olympics despite being 28 weeks pregnant.
Olympics
Don't miss out on the headlines from Olympics. Followed categories will be added to My News.
If marathon runner Jess Trengove is on the start line for the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Olympics next August it will be one of the more incredible feats athletics has seen.
Normally qualifying for the 42km race would no worries for the 32-year-old from South Australia, who has represented Australia in the event at the past two Olympics.
But this time round is a little different. Jess is six months pregnant, leaving her little time to recover from an early December birth and post a qualifying time.
“It’s a pretty tight window and certainly I’m well aware that it would be a huge feat to run a qualifying time,” she told the ABC.
“It’s not just a matter of getting a good time, it’s a matter of being in the top three out of the Australians as well.
“It’ll be a big challenge but I’m not thinking about it too much — I’m just going through each day trying to stay fit and healthy and once the baby is born, we’ll look at the situation then.
“You just don’t know how childbirth is going to be and you don’t know how your baby will respond either.”
To give herself the best chance Jess has done what she can to stay as fit as possible during her pregnancy.
Just last month she flew from her home in Adelaide to complete a 10km “jog” as part of the Gold Coast marathon.
“Admittedly I was nervous as I hadn’t covered that sort of distance in months but among thousands of fired up runners and a downpour to keep us cool, we made it across the finish line together,” she wrote on her personal website.
Despite finding it more and more difficulty to tie the laces on her running shoes and having to tape her belly button to avoid chafing, Jess is staying in shape.
Her daily routine includes morning training sessions on an elliptical machine at the gym — five sets of 90/30/60 second moderate-intensity efforts with one minute recoveries — followed by physiotherapy and a light evening walk.
She’s only just stopped taking part in the 2km warm-up with the teammates in her running squad on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
“It’s different in pregnancy in that any sign your body gives you, you really respect that and stop straight away,” she told the ABC.
You can follow Jess’s progress at her website jessicatrengove.com.au
Originally published as Pregnant running star Jess Trengove’s Olympic ambition