Rebecca Petch, a 27-year-old Olympic silver medallist, is racing towards her most precious milestone yet. Photo / Sacha Kahaki
Life for champion rider Rebecca Petch has been a blur of finish lines and podiums in recent years. Now the 27-year-old Paris silver medallist is racing towards her most precious milestone yet, the arrival of a baby boy.
“We are so excited,” says the 27-year-old Te Awamutu-born double Olympian, as she and husband Jarrod Browning prepare to welcome their first child in October. “This pregnancy is very special, and something we’ve always wanted.”
It was on Valentine’s Day, while getting ready for an early morning gym session, that Rebecca first suspected she might be pregnant.
“I just had this feeling, so did a test at home which showed a faint positive result,” she recalls. “I went to the gym and training for the whole day as usual, but didn’t tell anyone, not even Jarrod. On the way home, I bought another test so I could double-check before I told him.”
Jarrod, 29, says he was “over the moon, stoked, and a little bit gobsmacked” by the baby news, which the lovebirds celebrated in classic Kiwi style. They had already planned a Valentine’s Day date to a local movie night, which wasn’t quite as romantic as it could have been.
“We grabbed our bean bags and headed down,” smiles Rebecca. “The movie was Shrek and I was so tired I slept through the whole thing!”
Now in her third trimester, Rebecca is grateful her pregnancy has been “pretty smooth sailing”.
In the early days, she suffered from a bit of morning sickness but usually felt good to go once she had eaten some toast, a trusted stomach settler for lots of people.
Jarrod grins when asked if he’s been sent on any midnight runs to satisfy Rebecca’s cravings, which can sometimes manifest during pregnancy.
“I’ve heard stories of people having really weird cravings, but Rebecca hasn’t had any at all. She definitely loves a good toasted sandwich though.”
Rather than food, it’s fatigue that has been Rebecca’s biggest challenge.
“I had to keep reminding myself I was training at an elite level and growing a human at the same time,” she says.
Having stayed on the bike and track for as long as possible, Rebecca has now transitioned back to gym work and lower-risk training such as swimming, walking and riding a stationary bike instead.
“I’m still keeping fit. I like to be busy, but I’m listening to my body and adapting as I go,” she says.
The past few years have been career-defining for the former BMX national champion. After switching to track cycling, Rebecca claimed a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, followed by the silver medal in Paris with women’s sprint relay teammates Ellesse Andrews and Shaane Fulton.
While many athletes step away from sport completely when babies come along, Rebecca is determined to balance both, setting herself a goal of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“Jarrod and I always wanted to be younger parents, and after doing the math, realised I’ll be 30 at the next Olympics. We didn’t want to wait until after then,” she reveals.
Rebecca is excited by the challenge of juggling family life and sport and says her cycling teammates have supported her all the way.
“I think being a mum will give me even more motivation to get to Los Angeles and do well. Having Jarrod and our wee boy in the stands would be really cool.”
A cheer squad of around 20 close family members were in Paris last year to see Rebecca reach the podium. It was a big change from her first Olympics experience in Tokyo, when she represented New Zealand in BMX and there was no crowd at all because of Covid.
“It was so exciting having everyone in Paris. Getting the medal was extra special as we’d had a short and sometimes rough journey to get there, but we pulled it all together on the day.”
Since their dreamy wedding at Takapoto Estate overlooking Lake Karapiro more than two years ago, Rebecca and Jarrod have purchased a lifestyle section near Pirongia. They’ve recently built a 70sq m house and a large shed, a stepping stone to developing their dream family home on the land one day.
There is plenty of space for their little one to run around, and Jarrod says they are looking forward to bringing him up the same way they were both raised.
“I grew up on a farm and was always outside helping Dad. He’s the hardest worker I know and that’s something I definitely want to pass on to our young bloke,” he says.
Rebecca nods. “We’re both pretty practical, hands-on people who love our DIY projects. We definitely want our children to know the value of hard work and to love the outdoors.”
Once their baby arrives, Rebecca will be outnumbered by males in the house – even their pets, Arlo the golden retriever and Ziggy the cat, are boys. The couple are interested to see how their animals will react to life with a tiny human.
“Arlo will be fine as he loves everyone but Ziggy might be a bit jealous,” grins Rebecca. “Whenever friends come over with their kids he scarpers to the garage, so he might take some adjusting.”
As will the couple. With Rebecca and Jarrod’s parents less than half an hour away, they are grateful to have family support close by, says Jarrod, who is a spouting specialist with his own company, Elite Spouting.
“We’ve got a couple of close friends with kids too, so have been able to see how they do things. It’s hard to know what having a baby is going to look like for us, but life is all about figuring it out as you go.”
When asked what kind of parents they’ll be, Jarrod doesn’t hesitate.
“Rebecca is going to have to be the strict one, because I’ll probably give our boy everything he wants,” he grins.
“I’ll be strict but fun!” laughs Rebecca. “I think Jarrod will be a great dad, but he’ll definitely be a pushover too.”
Rebecca admits to a few pangs of sadness after stepping away from the elite racing circuit this year. She missed the World Cup in Turkey not long after she got pregnant and might be watching the upcoming Track Cycling World Championships in Chile in October while cradling her new son.
“There’s a chance I might have the baby around the same time the team is competing,” says Rebecca. “I’m a bit sad not to be racing, but Jarrod and I are so looking forward to becoming parents, and taking this next exciting step in our life of growing and learning together.”