Kim Gaucher, a Canadian Olympic basketball player, said she is facing an unusual dilemma due to the games barring family members and fans from attending due to COVID-19.
Gaucher, who is a new mother, will have to choose between competing in the Olympic Games or continuing to breastfeed her child.
She voiced her frustration with the coronavirus rules that will be enforced at the Olympics:
Japanese fans are going to be in attendance, the arenas are going to be half-full, but I will not have access to my daughter?
Gaucher said that she thought, upon discovering that family members were not allowed in attendance, an exception would be made for her 3-month-old baby. However, the International Olympic Committee said no exceptions would be made.
The IOC said in a statement to CBC:
The Tokyo Olympic Games are understandably being conducted with an unprecedented focus on health and safety. This includes Japanese borders being closed to overseas visitors, family and friends.
Gaucher said she has received the support of Canada’s Olympic officials and that she has filed appeals in an effort to have her baby at the games to breastfeed, but, to no avail, saying in her social media post that "everyone says they're on board, but nobody can do anything."
She then requested the help of anyone that had any additional avenues to get her daughter to the games.
Let's see if we can make a difference. It's 2021. Let's make working moms normal.
Gaucher said Team USA players who are mothers to small children are also experiencing the same dilemma.
Canada’s Olympic women’s basketball team is set to start the Olympic games in a July 26 matchup with Serbia.