Sarah Wassner Flynn, Amateur Triathlete and Mother of Four

WiSP Sports

Welcome back to season two of Mum’s the Word. Thanks for joining us again for another series of interviews with pro athlete moms, health professionals and fitness experts. This week’s guest Sarah Wassner Flynn grew up as a very athletic woman. She competed in Division 1 cross country and track and field in high school, and went on to compete in college. Her student athlete experience was not wholly positive with lots of transition in coaches, lack of guidance and programming so Sarah stepped away from competing for a while. Still wanting to achieve her athletic goals, Sarah had a burning desire to pick up sport again. Her sisters, Rebeccah and Laurel, are pro triathletes and they encouraged her to get back into sport, even going so far as to become her coach.
An All American USA Triathlete, Sarah, picked up the sport of triathlon after her third child Nelly was born and started racing when Nelly was about 15 months old. The biggest barrier was the bike section of the triathlon. Learning how to clip in to the pedals and how to navigate the bike course felt intimidating—Sarah was initially a very timid cyclist. She was passed by everyone on the bike, and then would spend the majority of the run trying to catch up with people.
The running theme with most of our guests is that in order to make training and competing work as a mom, you need structure and a good support system. Sarah’s husband provides a lot of that support, taking on the duties of chief pancake chef on the weekends. It is something her kids really look forward to and that gives Sarah peace of mind and space to work on her sport.
After baby number three she knew she wanted a fourth, but kept qualifying for future races so had to find a time to fit in trying for a baby. Sarah fell pregnant with twins but heartbreakingly after a scan, they were told that one baby did not have a heartbeat. The family then had an agonizingly long week of waiting to see if the other baby would survive, tragically it did not.
Her miscarriage threw her through a loop and for a while she was not sure whether to keep competing. Sarah shared that it was the hardest thing to ever go through, made worse by the taboo that still surrounds miscarriage. She felt as if her body failed her, and it has been winning and serving her for so long. She needed time for healing, and signed up for lots of races as a way to distract herself.
Still wanting to have another baby, Sarah was blessed with a healthy pregnancy after that and it helped her scale back training and rest some more, though still training enough to compete in two triathlons whilst pregnant!
Outside of triathlon and wrangling her four children, Sarah is an author of some National Geographic Kids books. For those experiencing miscarriage or infertility, Sarah shares these words of wisdom; “there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even though you are in the dark right now”.
41 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
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