Elinor Barker selected for Commonwealth Games mere months after giving birth
Elinor Barker selected for Commonwealth Games mere months after giving birth
Just five months after giving birth, Olympic gold medallist Elinor Barker has been selected to ride for Wales at the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Barker, who rides for Women’s WordTeam Uno-X on the road, gave birth to her son, Nico, in March and will now compete at the Games in Birmingham, UK, in August.
“Until a few years ago, I had assumed having a baby would mean the end of my career. Now, it doesn’t even have to mean the end of my season,” Barker wrote in an Instagram post announcing her selection.
The 27-year-old discovered she was pregnant at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year, where she was part of the silver-medal-winning GB team pursuit squad. The newly-formed Women’s WorldTeam Uno-X signed Barker, who has been a world and Olympic champion on multiple occasions on the track, in the knowledge that she was pregnant, promising to support her throughout her pregnancy and return to racing.
“Absolutely thrilled to be able to add Welsh Cycling and Team Wales to the list of people who have given my comeback their full support,” Barker continued on Instagram.
“I put myself up for selection for the road race before Nico was born as part of my ‘Plan A’, shooting for the moon return to racing dream, which I’d suspected was a little ambitious. Feels completely surreal that I’ll get the honor of representing Wales again before my boy is even 5 months old.”
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