Photo: Cliff Hawkins/Getty

Lindsay Flach

For heptathlete Lindsay Flach, things were a little different heading into her third U.S. Olympic trials.

Prior to last weekend’s U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials, the 31-year-old revealed onInstagramthat she was 18 weeks pregnant — and would still be competing.

“3rd Olympic Trials This one looks a little different 😉,” the athlete, who previously competed in heptathlons in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic trials, writes. “‘Every story has an end but in life every end is a new beginning’ "

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“The secret 🤫 is no secret anymore,” she writes, adding the hashtags, “last one,” “pregnant,” “pregnant belly,” “18 weeks” and “fit moms.”

During this year’s heptathlon, which features seven different competitions, Flach competed in every event and ultimately finished 15th out of the 18 heptathlon competitors, according toHuff Post.

In an interview withYahoo! Sports, Flach said once she found out about her pregnancy she asked her doctors for permission to continue training leading up to the trials.

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The athlete added that her pregnancy was “very rough to start” and trained as best as she could through nausea, heartburn and headaches.

“I had about 12 weeks of bad vomiting, which affected my training,” she said. “If the Olympic Trials were three weeks ago, I don’t know that I would have been there, but I started to feel better and I was able to get some really good practices in.”

After revealing that she would be competing in the trials, Flach said she did receive some “negative reactions” which she “kind of expected.”

While the athlete admitted it was “hard mentally” to not be able to compete at her highest level, she “just wanted to prove what women are capable of.”

She added, “To end one chapter and begin another on my terms was amazing.”

source: people.com