Marathon star Jess Stenson wants to compete in Paris Olympics 2024 despite being pregnant

Jess Stenson might be expecting her second child in September but that doesn’t mean she is ruling out a push for the Paris Olympics.

Marathoner Jess Stenson isn’t ruling out the Paris Olympics despite expecting her second child in September.

While she knows a lot would have to go right, the reigning Commonwealth champion also knows anything is possible after childbirth.

Stenson (nee Trengove) had the best year of her career in 2022 after she came back from having her first child, Billy, in late 2019.

“I am open to it all,” she says about competing in Paris.

“It would have to go very smoothly from a mental, physical and logistical perspective and you don’t know what your body is going to be like and whether with the baby there are going to be any complications which might make things tough.

“But it’s not something I’m ruling out, let’s say that.”

Stenson, 35, made the conscious decision with her husband, Dylan, to begin the process of starting a family in 2018 despite the Tokyo Olympics being on the horizon.

“A lifelong goal of mine was to become a mum and we talked about when is the best time to try because I felt I was on an upwards trajectory as an athlete,” Stenson explains.

Jess Stenson with husband Dylan Stenson and their first child, Billy. Picture: Matt Loxton

“I knew that starting that process and potentially becoming a mum, I might not get back to my best. I just had to be comfortable with that and know that I would try.

“I’d had complications through my teenage years with hormones and whatnot before I even started training to run so I was nervous about it (getting pregnant).

“I ended up having a bit of ovulation support and fortunately it all happened quite quickly with all that support. Then when I stopped breastfeeding Billy my hormones just kicked into gear and I didn’t have any issues after that so I was fortunately able to fall pregnant naturally the second time around.

“It shows the human body and how amazing it is.”

Stenson was back jogging after six weeks of having Billy but in the end it was a bone stress injury which ultimately forced her to abandon plans to compete in Tokyo in 2021.

The following year in her first run in Australian colours as a mum she won the Commonwealth Games marathon in Birmingham and then in November 2022 finished ninth at the New York City Marathon in 2hr27mi27sec.

Mother’s Day edition Insight Sport

“I wanted to take the opportunity to do some racing after all the training I had done to get back fitness after Billy,” Stenson said.

“I am really glad I did have that year in 2022 of racing because they were some of the greatest racing experiences of my career.”

She believes the biggest advantage coming back to compete after having a baby is on the mental side.

“I think the mindset is a big one. I guess I saw training as just part of my job beforehand but its importance in my life is even greater now as a mum because you do crave that time to yourself and the opportunity to just get out and free your mind,” she said.

“My training days is something I value more, it becomes more of a privilege than a task so you shift your mindset in that way and it leads to pretty big improvements.

“It’s the same when you go out to race, previously I’d put a lot more pressure on myself because I really needed a good result to have fulfillment.

“Now I feel like my life is complete in other areas so anything I do in running is just a bonus, I’m not hanging on that result to find happiness.”

Jess Stenson celebrates with Billy after winning gold in the Commonwealth Games marathon. Picture: Getty Images

On the physical side, her legs were certainly stronger when she returned after carrying around a baby but the advancement in shoe technology clouded her ability to judge it.

“I think physically it has been difficult for me to elicit where the improvements have come from because the super shoes came out when I was pregnant with Billy so when I got back into running suddenly the shoe technology had gone up another level,” Stenson said.

“So I didn’t know if it was the shoes that were helping or the physiological changes that happened during pregnancy.”

Jess Stenson believes the biggest advantage coming back to compete after having a baby is on the mental side. Picture: AFP

Stenson urged younger athletes to look after their bodies and not push becoming a mother into the background.

“The messaging is really towards getting sound advice from medical professionals now,” she said.

“There was a time in history where girls were just encouraged to go on the pill if they lost their cycle and get on with things.

“But now there is better education and people are acknowledging that producing your own estrogen is just so important for your bone health and future fertility, all those things.

“I think there is much better education now and I think it is so important for girls to not just think about the moment they are in but the future.”