Most world class athletes would like their Olympic Games preparations to be smooth sailing but that’s not they way it played out for volleyball player Diana Reyes.
Just days before she was set to jet to Rio the 23-year-old was involved in a car crash in her native Puerto Rico and she was sent to hospital for check-ups.
It was during that screening that the athlete learned she got another unexpected surprise; she was 4-months pregnant.
Her doctors reportedly gave her the all-clear to compete in Brazil, and she made the journey to Rio with her team but didn’t tell them she was pregnant.
Reyes said: “I learned of the pregnancy two days before travelling. I can play, there is no restriction. Our coach congratulated me and knows I can play.
There is no official rule stating that athletes can’t compete while pregnant, after all US beach volleyballer Kerri Walsh-Jennings was five weeks pregnant when she and her teammate Misty May-Treanor took him gold at the London Olympics in 2012.
Reyes and her team have thus far haven’t been so lucky. Her country crashed out of competition following three consecutive losses.
A number of athletes – male and female – pulled out of Olympic competition due to fears about the Zika virus.
Brazilian authorities have been battling the mosquito-borne virus, which can cause crippling birth defects, since the outbreak began in early 2015 and athletes of childbearing age were warned of the risks before coming to Rio.
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