Cycling great Anna Meares believes she would have been a better athlete if she was a mother at the time, welcoming an Australian Olympic funding package supporting sporting mums.
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Australian Olympians who give birth after December 11 and are committed to making an Olympic comeback will be eligible for a $10,000 grant per child as part of a $50-million funding package.
Hailed as the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC)'s most significant athlete-funding initiative since the buildup to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, retiring athletes will also be entitled to the package.
Athletes from the 2026 to 2032 cycle will receive a $32,000 grant paid in instalments over four years, starting 16 years after their eligible Olympic appearance.
Olympians who compete at two Games are entitled to receive $64,000, with 1,300 athletes projected to benefit from the retirement grant.
The AOC, capitalising on a boost from its sizeable investment portfolio, will also set up the $20 million Olympian Futures Fund.
There is an additional $5000 payment for Olympic team selection per athlete.
Like the retirement fund, it will start at next year's Winter Games and will go through to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
AOC president Ian Chesterman, chief executive Mark Arbib, Paris Olympic team chef de mission Meares and her Milan Winter Games counterpart Alisa Camplin-Warner fronted a media conference in Sydney on Thursday morning to announce the funding.
Meares, a four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medallist in track cycling, said she had goosebumps after learning of the funding package.
"It's not easy to have longevity as an Olympian," Meares said on Thursday.
"I believe that the announcement today and these funds will bring excitement and hope to our athletes.
"For female athletes, we are seeing that motherhood and high-performance careers can co-exist, and we want to be able to further support that.
"I actually have spoken to a few mothers in retirement, and we have agreed that if we knew as an athlete what we now know as mothers, I have said I would have been a better athlete.
"I wasn't too shabby as an athlete, but I do believe I would have been a better athlete."
Triple Olympic kayaker Alyce Wood described the funding as a "game changer", having recently given birth to her second child Maeve.
Wood had come back from her first pregnancy to compete in her final Games in Paris.
"It was probably the most special thing of my career, but it absolutely was not easy. Many times, I question myself," Wood said of having first child Florence in Paris.
"If we look at the retirement fund, I look at it like a superannuation contribution.
"I retired last year with about $5000 in my super, and I'm 33 years old.
"This is like a line in the sand, where things change."
The projected costs are $42 million for the retirement grants and $1.1 million for the return to sport payments.
The AOF, which gives the AOC financial independence, is worth $200 million.
The AOC revealed the foundation this year "generated significant capital gains from its investment portfolio" and this money was used to start the future fund.
The committee will also stump up the money for the team payments at an estimated cost of $7.6 million.
Australian Associated Press
