Less than 48 hours after giving birth at Mater Mothers’ Hospital at South Brisbane, four time Olympian and marathon runner, Genevieve Gregson, dashed to an Olympic stadium planning meeting for 2032, with baby Alfred, ‘Freddy’, in her arms.
It’s the second son for the 35-year-old who fell pregnant with baby Freddy, shortly after competing at the Paris Olympics, and she continued training right up until the day before he was born.
“Running and training during pregnancy was a good outlet when you feel like an alien in your body,” she said.
“And as an elite athlete it’s my job to stay in shape and not be too far removed from competing, and it’s something I love.”
Baby Freddy is one of more than 11,000 babies born at a Mater Mother’s hospitals across Queensland.
He arrived on Wednesday afternoon, weighing a healthy 3.67kg.
Ms Gregson said she had an easy birth after a short labour, but soon after delivering Freddy, she suffered serious haemorrhaging, losing more than a litre of blood.
“The care I had at Mater was first class, within minutes I had about 10 people in the room with me and I was really well looked after,” she said.
“I’m feeling great now, and I am just enjoying being a new mum and my beautiful boys.”
The marathon mum is married to Olympic runner Ryan Gregson, who is competing in the Gold Coast half marathon this weekend.
And for the past two days, he’s been juggling training sessions while looking after the couple’s three year-old son Archer. “I’m really looking forward to the half marathon and the last few days have just been some light jogging to freshen up before the race,” he said.
“I think my job is very easy when it comes to having someone like Genevieve as a mum - my job is just to be there to support her and look after our other son.”
And he won’t be racing alone.
Ms Gregson will be on the sidelines supporting her husband, along with her two sons.
“Ryan and I support each other in everything we do, and I love running and seeing him race, so there’s no decision to make really, it’s just what we’ll do,” she said.
Ms Gregson says she’s keen to have four children, but it will take some planning because her next goal is to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and in Brisbane, 2032.
She also plans to get to get back on the track and start a light training schedule in the next few weeks. But until then and as soon as her husband finishes his half marathon, the couple say, they will finally relax.
“I’m looking forward to returning to running but I’m not itching to get back - I’m going to enjoy the baby bubble as long as can,” she said.
