British cyclist Elinor Barker has revealed she was pregnant when she won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year.
The athlete, 27, was part of Great Britain's women's team pursuit squad that took home a medal at the Izu Velodrome in August, per BBC News.
Announcing the news on social media on Tuesday, October 5, Barker wrote: "Casper and I are excited to announce that we are expecting our first child.
"We can't believe how lucky we are and are so excited to start the next part of our lives together."
In a second post on Instagram, she added: "For the eagle-eyed among you who have done the maths… yep, I was pregnant at the Tokyo Olympics!"
Barker's good news is all the more special as she revealed in 2019 that she suffered from endometriosis, a condition that can cause pain, heavy periods, and fatigue.
The condition affects around one in 10 women of reproductive age and can also make it more difficult to conceive, CNN reports.
A former world and European champion, Barker went into the Tokyo Olympics looking to defend her team pursuit gold medal from Rio 2016.
After bagging a silver medal at the Games, Barker thanked a number of organizations and people on social media for providing her with confidence to become a parent while also performing as an elite-level athlete.
"I'd like to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you to Lizzie Deignan, Laura Kenny, and Sarah Storey," Barker said. "Because of these women (and many more) I didn’t doubt the future of my career for one second.
"I'd always been in awe of what they’ve each achieved since becoming parents, but only recently have I fully understood the full power of what each of them has done."
"I'd also like to thank Uno-X Pro Cycling and British Cycling for not hesitating to offer their full support. I’m fully aware that I’d be in a totally different situation if this had happened just a few years ago, and I’m so grateful for the difference that visibility for athlete mothers has made," she said.