First Olympics nursery is a step forward, athletes say, but much remains to do

CNN —

Just outside the perimeter of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village was a special room, the only space near the village where athletes with young children were directed to care for their babies.

The room had a few chairs and offshoots for breastfeeding mothers, according to Greg Polychronidis and Katerina Polychronidis Patroni. The couple, who have represented Greece together in boccia at two Paralympic Games, welcomed their first child in May 2021 and received permission to travel as a family to compete in Tokyo just months later.

It was small, windowless and dark, added Edina Müller, who currently represents Germany in paracanoe. She breastfed her son throughout the Tokyo Games.

Covid-19 restrictions at the time meant guests – including children and caretakers – could not access the Olympic Village. Strict training schedules and GPS tracking in place for Covid safety made it difficult for athletes to visit their babies – if they were even approved to travel with them. Many athletes, such as Spanish synchronized swimmer Ona Carbonell, were driven to leave their nursing infants at home.

“It was very important to us to have our little baby,” Patroni said. “I can’t imagine how else we would have gone to Tokyo.”

For Polychronidis, it was not an option to leave their nursing child at home. “Either we could go the three of us or none of us,” he added.

German Paralympian Edina Müller's son lays on the floor in the room athletes were directed towards to spend time with, care for, and breastfeed their young children during the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, according to Müller.

In a stark contrast, they beamed with excitement while speaking about a new addition to the Paris 2024 Olympics facilities: the very first nursery for