Veteran United States player will compete in Tokyo carrying her fourth child
TOKYO (OIS) – United States sitting volleyball player Lora WEBSTER is competing at the Paralympic Games while pregnant for the second time in her career.
The mother of three is roughly 20 weeks into her term just as she was when carrying second child Colton at London 2012.
Back then she kept her condition a secret from her teammates as she didn’t want it to affect how they played around her. This time she’s happy to talk publicly about it.
“I know how to compete pregnant. My body knows what to do I know how to make sure that I’m protecting (the) baby,” WEBSTER (USA) said.
“But as far as competition goes the goal is still the same and my effort and my dedication to getting that job done is still the same. This is just a circumstance of it.”
Now 35, WEBSTER was part of the USA team that won silver in London, another at Beijing 2008, and bronze in Athens in 2004. The squad arrives in Tokyo as champions having triumphed in Rio last time around.
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WEBSTER took a break from competing while expecting her first child and, while she admits that taking part in elite sport is not appropriate for every mother-to-be, she wants others to know just what is possible.
“Physically I don’t feel any different when I’m playing, and this baby’s just along for the ride,” WEBSTER said.
“People need to know that as long as you’re healthy, and I’m not trying to give medical advice by any stretch, it is possible to remain active and a pregnancy doesn’t have to derail your goals.
“You can manage both if that’s what you’re capable of doing. Not everybody is, and with my first pregnancy, I had to stop playing because we had a lot of scares and the risk just wasn’t worth it.
“That was a really hard choice for me to give up that dream, to fulfil the other one. So I know that I’m very fortunate to be able to have both right now, and that’s not something I take for granted.”