Paralympian Grabs Gold While Pregnant With Her Fourth Child

Lora Webster, a member of the Team USA sitting volleyball team, currently has three children with a fourth on the way. At 35 years old, Webster is in the prime of her career, leaving the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with a gold medal in her hands and a new life forming inside her.

“I know how to compete while pregnant,” Website said. “My body knows what to do. I know how to make sure that I'm protecting (the) baby,” she said to Team USA.

Webster began playing volleyball at the young age of five at her local YMCA center. At the age of 11, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her left tibia. She underwent a rotationplasty procedure to remove the cancerous bone, and lost her knee. In 1998 she got a prosthetic leg. Becoming an amputee did not halt Webster’s athletic involvement in high school where she was a part of volleyball, track and diving.

“Had I not embraced my new life, I would have been stuck in a place of limits and fear,” Webster said to Stony Brook University News. “Having cancer opened my life up to endless opportunities and I will forever be grateful for these opportunities.”

Webster has competed in five Olympic games for the USA sitting volleyball team and since her first games in 2004, she has won five Olympic medals. In her first Olympic games, USA took the bronze medal and in her next two appearances, they took silver. After having three kids, Webster and Team USA took gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics. At five months pregnant, Website stepped on the court for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and secured her second gold medal.

“There was a lot of pep talk between me and the belly right before — we finally did it and now we could relax,” Webster said toTeam USA.

As a mother, Webster has balanced her training and busy schedule of taking care of her kids. Since her children were little, she has encouraged them to be active and take on new challenges. Like most professional athletes, Webster also hopes her children find a love for volleyball like she has.

“The kids had a volleyball in their hands as soon as they could lift their arms up,” Webster said to Today. “When they were part of the practice, it made it easier for them to understand what I was doing, and it was more of a family investment.”

With Webster's first pregnancy, she had to stop playing because her health was at risk. Her and her husband had multiple scares within their first pregnancy and Webster didn’t think playing was with the risk at that time. Now, Webster is having a healthy pregnancy and is able to remain active and fulfill her goals.

“That was a really hard choice for me to give up that dream, to fulfill the other one. So I know that I'm very fortunate to be able to have both right now, and that's not something I take for granted,” Webster said to Team USA.

On the court this summer, Webster played middle blocker and had six points on two kills, three blocks and an ace in the team’s four-set gold-medal victory over China. In half of a year, Webster will get to share her Olympic gold with her fourth child.

“This baby bump was a huge part of it for me, and the child’s going to have great show-and-tell stories to share about it,” Webster said to Team USA.

Despite the challenges of being a Paralympian and mother, Webster takes every challenge as it comes. Without fear of judgment, Webster got on the court in the 2020 Olympic Games with a baby bump and was proud to show the world that female athletes can reach their athletic and personal potential at the same time.