17 January 2020

Olympic gold medallist Natasha Hastings hid her pregnancy from sponsors due to worry over their reaction

Olympic athletics champion Natasha Hastings has said she hid her pregnancy for five months as she was worried about the reaction of her sponsors.

Hastings won two golds at the Beijing 2008 Games in the relay alongside US team mate Allyson Felix, as well as taking the title in Rio in the same event.

Felix has recently spoken out about her former sponsor Nike as the company dropped athletes while they were on maternity leave. Felix left the sponsor due to their actions.

Hastings had a baby boy, who she called Liam, on August 6 last year with her fiance NFL player William Gay. The 33-year-old has said she was worried about a number of things when she found out she was pregnant.

“I was worried about what this meant for my fitness, what did this mean for coming back for the Olympics. I was worried about what it would mean for my sponsors. 

"I was even worried about letting down the people around me because there is this thing as a woman — if you have a kid maybe you are not taking your career so seriously.

“It was almost like I had tortured myself for five months thinking about all the possible outcomes."

After five months she built up the courage to call her sponsor Under Armour and to her surprise they were excited for her.

Hastngs with son Liam and fiance William Gay (Instagram: Natasha Hastings)

Now she has had her son, she feels empowered as a mother and an athlete.

“We bring life into this world and still do a ton of other things. I’m still a badass woman and I can do anything I set my mind to."

The athlete is now preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in the summer but has admitted that it's been tough.

“It’s been hard training, I’m not going to lie. From every aspect. Physically, my body is different, I’m not sleeping through the night all the time with a new baby. I have to allow myself time to recover and get back in shape."

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