PUMA player Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir has defied the odds and battled through many hurdles to make her long-awaited return to elite level football this weekend when Olympique Lyonnais faced Dijon in Ligue 1 Féminine.
Back in September of 2021, Sara began working closely with PUMA to document her journey as she prepared to give birth and attempt to return to elite level sport. The journey has featured blogs and social content amplified through PUMA’s ‘She Moves Us’ platform to raise more awareness of the difficulties that female athlete still faces when becoming pregnant.
An extraordinary four months after giving birth to her son, Sara returned to the pitch to crown off an incredible journey that has seen her achieve the goal she had set herself when she first learned of her pregnancy.
Many athletes encounter challenges and uncertainty over their careers when faced with the prospect of pregnancy. Many athletes struggle due to the lack of support and have early retirement as a reality for most. Due to the stigma and issues that female athletes have faced, Sara aimed to inspire a generation of female athletes to never give up on their dreams and to push for change at all levels to help athletes who want to start a family and return to play at the highest level.
Sara’s journey will culminate in the release of a special documentary later in 2022. The short film will give unprecedented access to Sara’s story and give insight into the challenges female athletes face when deciding to start a family.
