Kristi Wagner will take her seat in a boat this weekend carrying more than oar and blade — she is chasing a spot on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic team less than a year and a half after giving birth to her daughter, Benedetta. The 33-year-old two-time Olympic rower, who grew up in Weston and now lives in Cambridge, returned to the water just five months after her daughter was born in May 2025, and this week she lines up at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Wagner's path back to elite competition was not something she scheduled around the Olympic calendar — according to The Boston Globe, she did not time her pregnancy around the 2028 Games. She has also been candid that there is a limit to how far she will push the pursuit: she says she will stop rowing if the balancing act becomes untenable for her family, and she has said her Olympic ambition should also be a positive experience for the people she loves, not just a personal milestone.
If Wagner makes the LA28 roster, she will return to Olympic competition after giving birth. Lianne Nelson won a silver medal in the women's eight at the 2000 Olympics, according to Olympedia. Wagner has competed in two Olympic cycles, at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She kept her competitive edge sharp this year too, winning a bronze medal as part of the U.S. women's quadruple sculls boat at the 2026 World Rowing Championships, according to USRowing.
The Demands of a Postpartum Return
Her return also puts the practical demands of balancing elite training and family life in focus.
Working Through Institutional Gaps
Wagner has said she could not get clear medical guidance about training during pregnancy, an institutional gap she worked to close by partnering with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to build a postpartum training plan, the Globe reports. She continued receiving health insurance through the USOPC during her pregnancy and could have kept that coverage for up to one year after giving birth even without pursuing a national-team spot. Wagner has said the USOPC responded positively to requests from women navigating similar circumstances.
Wagner’s experience could help inform future discussions about how athletes navigate a return after childbirth.
That institutional support exists alongside real financial constraints across U.S. Olympic sport. USOPC funds cover less than 50% of USRowing's overall national team budget, according to organizational leadership cited by Forbes, with donors and corporate partnerships also contributing.
Back on Home Water
Wagner returns to compete at the Head of the Charles Regatta with her 17-month-old daughter Benedetta in tow as she pursues a place on the 2028 Olympic team.
