Hannah Martin returns to competition after giving birth: ‘I’m still It lit a fire inside me.”
Martin, a Team USA judoka, has been competing at the elite level for over 14 years. She made her remarkable competitive return in 2022, shortly after welcoming her daughter Zoe into the world in 2021, just before the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Despite the demands of motherhood, Hannah felt an undeniable urge to return to the judo hall. She said of her decision: I felt that I still had the desire to compete again. I wanted to see if I could compete at a high level as a mother. And I’m still here, so I’m pretty happy with how far I’ve come. ” However, like many athletes, she acknowledged her constant desire for further improvement.
Contrary to her expectations, getting back into shape wasn’t Martin’s biggest challenge in returning to competition. “Going back, fitness wasn’t the hardest thing. I was surprised. It was easier than I expected,” Martin explained. “The biggest challenge was actually not being able to sleep properly. My daughter doesn’t like sleeping. She’s a wild child. This is the hardest part, I can’t recover as much as I used to. But I’m not the first priority. She is my top priority.
Judo is deeply ingrained in every area of Martin’s life, from competition to her work with the European Judo Federation and her personal life. Martin’s girlfriend’s husband, Miguel, works as the coach of the German team, while also coaching Martin himself. They don’t just call themselves “Judoka.”
“It’s just me and him. I don’t have any family here. [in Germany], So we’re the only ones really taking care of our daughter. She comes to judo with us, to tatami. So juggling this was probably the hardest thing for our family. Both as an athlete and as a coach. ”
Thankfully, some members of Team USA are here to help. “We have some babysitters on the team who take care of her when she’s competing,” Martin said.
