Sally Pearson on the joys of being a soon-to-be mother and her hopes for her child
Five months after chronic injury forced her to retire early, golden girl Sally Pearson this week revealed she and husband Kieran were expecting. Now, she tells what she hopes for from the next chapter of her life and whether she wants her child to follow in her footsteps.
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SALLY Pearson doesn’t want to think of her pregnancy as sweet compensation for the bitter disappointment of missing this year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Five months after chronic injury forced her to retire as Australia’s athletics golden girl - robbing her of a shot at a third Olympic medal - Pearson this week revealed she and husband Kieran were expecting their first child.
Athletics champion Sally Pearson hints she is expecting her first child with husband Kieran
But in her first interview since announcing the big news on social media, the Gold Coaster said she did not see her pregnancy as making up for the loss of her glittering sports career.
“I don’t really want to think of the pregnancy like that,” she told The Courier-Mail today.
“It’s (the baby) something I want to bring into this world with pure love and joy and happiness. Athletics is just something that I did.”
When she retired, an emotional Pearson said children were down the track for her and Kieran as she struggled with the sadness of having to hang up her racing spikes.
But she said coaching young athletes helped her cope with the pain of retirement and she fell pregnant sooner rather than later.
“You just never know, do you?” she said.
“A lot of people have struggles with it (falling pregnant) but I was just very fortunate that I wasn’t one of those people and it happened for us.
“I actually didn’t grow up planning children - I wasn’t a person whose life was going to revolve around being a mum, being a parent.
“But now I’m excited and almost have that love straight away without even meeting the baby. It’s something really special and I’m looking forward to taking on the responsibilities and everything that comes with having a baby and loving it unconditionally.
“It’s a really special moment that hopefully happens more than once in my life.”
Pearson said she did not yet know the baby’s gender and hopes to keep it secret until the end.
“I don’t want to find out - Kieran does, he’s really desperate to know,” she chuckled.
“My mum and Kieran’s parents couldn’t wait for us to announce it. It’s their first grandchild and they’re super-proud. It’s going to be very spoilt this Christmas.”
As for the little one following in his or her world and Olympic champion mum’s shoe-steps, Pearson said she’d be just happy if her child is sporty.
“Obviously everyone says they don’t want to push their kids into anything but at the same time, I’d love it to be able to at least like sport,” she said.
“Kieran’s a musician so he’d like it to be a good musician.”
While she’s not due to give birth until July, Pearson already has a new ‘baby’.
She has teamed up with Gold Coast sporting gear company BLK to develop her own range of ‘affordable’ active wear clothing.
Originally published as Sally Pearson on the joys of being a soon-to-be mother and her hopes for her child