This photo shows Alysia Montano competing in the 800 metres while eight months pregnant

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 12, 2021 at 10:50
2 min read
By Mohammad MAZED, AFP Bangladesh

A photo of a pregnant athlete has been shared hundreds of times in Facebook posts claiming she won a 400-metre race while five months pregnant. The claim is false; the photo shows US runner Alysia Montano competing in an 800-metre race when she was eight months pregnant in 2014. She finished last in the event.

"5 months pregnant. Won the 400-metre race," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post from August 10 that has since been shared more than 400 times.

Screenshot of Facebook post sharing the false claim, taken on August 11, 2021

Similar Facebook posts were shared here and here.

However, the claim is false.

A Google reverse image search found that the photo was taken by Associated Press (AP) news agency photographer Rich Pedroncelli on June 26, 2014.

The photo, available in AP's archives, is captioned, "Alysia Montano, left, who is 34 weeks pregnant, competes in the quarterfinals of the 800 meters in the U.S. outdoor track and field championships in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, June 26, 2014."

Screenshot of the photo in AP's archives, taken on August 12, 2021

AFP reported that the Olympian and five-time national champion finished in last place at the event at the US Track and Field Championships.

Montano said she ran because she wanted to show that women "can be fit while pregnant, continue their career and pursue having a family."

She told CBS Los Angeles that she and her husband planned the pregnancy in an off-year so she could participate in the World Athletic Championships and the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

"I know there is a lot of stigma and really, the word is ignorance, behind pregnant women and exercising. And the truth is, it’s good for the mom and the baby," she told the broadcaster.

Montano made headlines in 2019 when she joined a chorus of criticism against Nike, accusing the sportswear giant of penalising female athletes who took time off to have a child.

She wrote in the New York Times that the brand could reduce an athlete's sponsorship payments "for any reason" if they didn't meet performance thresholds, with "no exceptions for childbirth, pregnancy or maternity".

Nike announced a new maternity policy in August 2019, which guaranteed athlete's pay and bonuses for 18 months around pregnancy.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail

This photo shows Alysia Montano competing in the 800 metres while eight months pregnant

YouTube