2021 Tokyo Olympics: IOC to allow competitors who are nursing mothers to bring their babies to Summer Games

The IOC changed course after public pleas by Kim Gaucher, a Canadian basketball player and mother of a three-month-old child.

Attempting to hold an international competition in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic has become an undertaking like no other for the International Olympic Committee as they prepare to host the Tokyo Olympics. And thanks to the efforts of one devoted mother, the IOC has made one more alteration to the Games' operations.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday that nursing mothers will now be allowed to bring their babies with them to the Tokyo Olympics. The IOC had previously stipulated that no family members could travel with athletes to Tokyo in the name of COVID-19 restrictions.

The IOC's change of direction came largely thanks to the efforts of Kim Gaucher, a Canadian basketball player and the mother of a three-month-old baby daughter. Gaucher, who is still breastfeeding her daughter Sophie, had said that she was being given the choice of either skipping the Olympics or spending 28 days in Tokyo without her child.

"We very much welcome the fact that so many mothers are able to continue to compete at the highest level, including at the Olympic Games," read a statement by the IOC. "We are very pleased to hear that the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee has found a special solution regarding the entry to Japan for mothers who are breastfeeding and their young children."

Gaucher had made a public plea on Instagram to try and affect a change in policy as she had been making appeals to the IOC. In making her argument, Gaucher had pointed out the incongruence of her not being allowed to bring her infant child to the Olympics when international media, sponsors, and a limited number of Japanese fans are traveling to the games.

"I'm incredibly happy and very thankful for all the people who fought for this and helped out with this," Gaucher said. "There can be moments of frustration, but I think women's sports is evolving and sometimes it takes a little bit of time for everyone to get on the same page. I'm happy that this decision has been made. The right decision for women in sports and we can move forward."

Gaucher, 37, will be competing in the Olympics for the third time when competition begins in Tokyo.