"I cried a lot while riding the bus to the Olympic Village.
"I was just looking at videos and photos of my baby.
"Then I got there and I just couldn't sleep without her."
When marathon runner Alfin Tulimuk set off for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, one thing was certain - she wouldn't be traveling without her six-month-old daughter, Zoe.
Due to the corona virus pandemic, the organization of the Games was unique, and the marathon was held in the city of Sapporo in the north of Japan.
This meant that Tulimuk could be with her family - except for the first night when she stayed in the Olympic Village in Tokyo where no children were allowed.
That's why she had to be separated from her baby that she was nursing.
"For the first time I slept without Zoi. Zoi and my husband stayed at the hotel. That was really hard," Tulimuk told BBC Sport Africa.
"I had a lot of milk. I expressed milk and thought 'My baby is not here with me' - then I called them, and she was crying, she was going crazy because she didn't understand why her mom wasn't there," she recalled.
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That's why the Kenyan-born American marathon runner welcomes the new rules on nurses and babysitters at the Paris Games, which also include a dedicated area for children in the Olympic Village.
"I am very happy that a lot has changed in just four years, from not being able to be with my baby to the fact that there is now a small space for them.
"It's really amazing."
What do the Paris Games offer to nursing mothers and nannies?
The question of when to stop breastfeeding the baby bothered Tulimuk, like many other sportswomen who are mothers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend that the baby be exclusively breastfed for the first six months, and then to continue breastfeeding with adequate nutrition until the baby is at least two years old.
"I was thinking of nursing the baby for three or four months, which would leave me about two and a half months until the Olympics.
"But when my daughter was born, I realized that I would not stop breastfeeding her, because I loved it so much," says Tulimuk.
Such experiences encouraged the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organizers of the Games in Paris 2024 to create a space dedicated to children for the first time in Olympic history.
"We have learned a lot from the Games in Tokyo and the previous Games and we want to constantly improve the experience of athletes," Ema Tero, president of the IOC Sports Commission, told BBC Africa.
"We have more and more athletes who have small children, and mothers who continue their sports career quite quickly after giving birth.
"If at the Olympic Games there is a facility near the athletes where their children can be with babysitters, then they can focus much better on the competition."
So what does the Paris Games offer to breastfeeding mothers and babysitters?
A crèche is a place where nursing mothers have privacy and can express milk and save it for their babies.
Areas for changing diapers, as well as a playroom, are also provided.
There is also accommodation outside the village, if the National Olympic Committees agree to finance it.
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Tero, who participated in the Winter Olympics, says she also has a reservation system for those who need such services the most.
"We wanted to provide a space that gives the contestants peace and privacy, so they can focus on what is likely to be the pinnacle of their career," she said.
But what about the arenas that are far from the Olympic Village?
Tulimuk says that the place where the marathon was held in Sapporo in 2021 was not suitable for nursing mothers.
As the start of the race was postponed to the last minute due to the heat, she did not have time to express milk in the hotel.
"I got to the starting line where the tent for the United States of America (USA) team was set up, but there was no place for breastfeeding and milking," says the 35-year-old.
"I should have gone to the toilet and expressed milk, but there was no time.
"It would have been nice if there had been a special tent, but no one thought about the fact that there might be female athletes who are breastfeeding."
Drips for change
Tero says that cooperation between the IOC Sports Commission and their colleagues in the organizing bodies of the Paris Games helped to launch these initiatives, whose "engine" was the now retired Olympic 200m champion, Alison Felix of the USA.
French judo star Clarisse Agbenjenu, a two-time Olympic champion, also advocated for better conditions for nursing mothers at the Olympics hosted by her country.
"It hurts me when I hear people say, 'We can only do one thing at a time,' or 'You can't get ahead in your job,' or 'You can't be a top athlete if you're a mother,'" she said. Agbenjenu for the website olympics.com.
They are not the only ones advocating for change.
American high school student Alisija Montanjo founded the group &Majka (&Mother), which advocates for better conditions, contracts and sponsorships for mothers.
Feliks is on the board of directors of the group.
At the 2014 USA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California, Montanjo ran eight months pregnant.
"It seemed to me that we didn't see what it's like to be a woman in my sport, to clearly see that she's pregnant, to give birth to babies and continue her career, so I'm going to show that," says Montanjo to BBC Sport Africa.
After giving birth, Montaño had to undergo a paracentesis (abdominal puncture) in order to be able to continue training, because according to the contract, she would lose her right to financial resources if she went on maternity leave.
It was also a problem to find a way to breastfeed the baby during the trip.
"I won the national championship six and ten months after giving birth," she says.
"I won a gold medal at the World Championship. We broke the American record.
"I found a way to express and deliver milk to my daughter while traveling in the USA.
"And I realized that there is no system that supports it, and that's why it's so difficult," she says.
Considering her and other women's experiences, Montanjo says that the services at the Paris Games are a step in the right direction.
"We very loudly demanded that what is necessary be done, and our goal is to support all Olympians, knowing that this is the main stage for the whole world to present how it is done and what a successful model can look like," she adds.
The first crèche at the Olympic Games, but is that enough?
The biggest challenge for nursing mothers who want to use accommodation outside the Olympic Village will be to convince their National Olympic Committees to cover the costs.
Thero says that the IOC is considering the possibility of providing such accommodation for future Games, but first it needs to be seen how much interest there is in Paris.
However, Montanjo believes that much more needs to be done before the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
"I would like to see stadiums that are safe and that have a decent milking area next to the tracks, in our warm-up area, that there is an electrical outlet for pumps and a safe place to store breast milk," says Montanjo.
"It is still a privilege to have a nanny or someone who can be with you for 14 days abroad, and we would like families to be supported during this time."
Tulimuk, who was unable to compete in Paris 2024 due to injury, is looking forward to Los Angeles in four years and hopes to get the support she needs if she decides to have another child.
"If the baby is next to you, it guarantees that nothing changes and that you can be the best version of yourself.
"We have seen what mothers can achieve when they are fully supported and we should continue to support them," she said.
See what's new at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024
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