357. Championing Women In Sport: How To Take Up Space & Better Support Mothers With Alysia Montaño
Hurdle
Emily Abbate
5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2025
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Alysia Montaño has never stood down from a challenge. Making waves when she ran the 2014 USATF Championships at 34 weeks pregnant, the activist, mother, and Olympian wants other women to know that they have value exactly as they are. That's the driving force behind her non-profit, For All Mothers, that aims to eliminate the motherhood penalty — the phenomenon by which women face economic, social, and health disadvantages after becoming mothers — through the public lens of sports.
In this week's episode, we talk about how life is for Alysia now that her work is focused own her activism instead of getting after it on the track, she shares how she takes care of herself while juggling motherhood, business, and so much more. Plus: The emotions that come with getting exactly what she deserves after finding out last year that she’s a bronze medalist from the 2012 London Olympics after a competitor was banned for doping.
IN THIS EPISODE
(5:15) Alysia shares what the Childcare So They Can Get Out There grant looks like
(5:46) Why Alysia started For All Mothers+
(9:45) Alysia talks about what it was like for her to make "motherhood visible" running the USATF championships at 8 months pregnant
(15:26) How motherhood has influenced Alysia's perspective on sports and competition as a whole
(20:28) Alysia talks about what it was like to win indoor nationals six months postpartum, navigating contract negotiations
(26:45) How Alysia feels about asking for help and why it's important to her juggling so many roles
(34:22) What are the barriers for childbearing women in sport and how For All Mothers+ is addressing those
(39:52) Why it's important for all women to share their stories
(45:32) The conversations Alysia is having with her three children on how to express their emotions
(45:58) What does success look like for this Olympian?
(51:32) What's Alysia's personal philosophy?
(56:58) What advice would Alysia offer her younger self?
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Strava Partners With For All Mothers+
SOCIAL
@emilyabbate
@hurdlepodcast
OFFERS
ASICS | Join me for the 5th annual ASICS Blue Jean Mile. Each mile is a step towards awareness and funds for mental health awareness. Learn more at Asics.com.
LMNT | Lemonade has ARRIVED! Head to DrinkLMNT.com/Hurdle to get a free sample pack with your purchase
JOIN: The Daily Hurdle IG Channel
ASK ME A QUESTION: Email [email protected] to ask me a question!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I have deep belief in my ability to achieve. |
| 0:17.5 | Hey everyone. Emily Avati here. You are listening to Hurdle. A wellness focus podcast where I talk to |
| 0:23.9 | inspirational people about everything from their highest, highs and toughest moments to essential |
| 0:28.5 | tips to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We all go through our fair share of hurdles. |
| 0:35.2 | My goal through these discussions is to empower you to better |
| 0:39.1 | navigate yours and move with intention so that you can stride toward your own big potential. |
| 0:44.2 | And of course, have some fun along the way. For today's episode, I'm chatting with Alicia Montanio. |
| 0:51.7 | She's an Olympian three-time world champion bronze medalist, |
| 0:55.7 | an activist, and the founder of For All Mothers. They're a nonprofit that aims to eliminate |
| 1:01.7 | what is often referred to as the motherhood penalty. The phenomenon by which women face |
| 1:07.4 | economic, social, and health disadvantages after becoming mothers. |
| 1:12.1 | And for all mothers, does this through the public lens of sports. |
| 1:16.3 | Aside from her fantastic work of lifting mothers, you may remember when she competed at the 2014 USATF championships at eight months pregnant. |
| 1:25.6 | Many people after that calling her the pregnant runner. And then she wrote a super powerful op-ed for the New York Times in 2019 entitled, Nike told me to dream crazy until I wanted a baby. Alicia shared her story struggling with contracts surrounding her pregnancy. And after doing so, others, including Alison Felix, were encouraged to speak their truth, |
| 1:47.5 | which resulted in many brands, including Nike, changing their maternity leave policies for elite athletes. |
| 1:54.4 | Nike specifically announced a new maternity policy for all sponsored athletes, |
| 1:58.9 | guaranteeing an athlete's pay and bonuses for 18 months |
| 2:02.2 | surrounding pregnancy, a major step in the right direction for women's rights. |
| 2:08.2 | I'm so lucky to call Alicia, a friend, one that I'm so proud of this week on the heels of a major |
| 2:13.7 | announcement that Strava has pledged more than $300,000 to for all mothers. |
| 2:20.3 | A massive part of that will pledge support to a new program called Child Care so they can get out there, |
| 2:26.3 | love the name, grants, which will provide 50 different recipients $2,000 to navigate the costs associated with child care and travel and lodging and support |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Emily Abbate, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Emily Abbate and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.