Photographer Ethan Herrold's 'Pregnant Athletes' Series Celebrates Strength in Pregnancy

Colorado-based photographer Ethan Herrold's ongoing series 'Pregnant Athletes' challenges conventional depictions of pregnancy by capturing female athletes—divers, runners, boxers, skiers, and climbers—continuing their sports while pregnant. Herrold, who photographs over a hundred pregnant women annually, was struck by the disparity between cultural imagery and the reality of athletic pregnant bodies. The series features professional runner Neely Gracey, who ran throughout her third pregnancy and was photographed in 2025 in Colorado's mountains, and diver and journalist Natalie Lampert, captured underwater at 35 weeks pregnant. Lampert, author of a book on fertility, had spent years writing about reproductive medicine and her own doubts about motherhood; the photos mark a personal milestone. Herrold emphasizes that the project is about 'permission to be strong' rather than pressure to train, and that each shoot begins with a conversation about the athlete's sport and what her body can do. Gracey notes that active pregnancies support healthy outcomes and that running helped her recover faster. Lampert hopes the images expand perceptions of pregnant bodies as powerful and complicated, not fragile. The series is presented through an exclusive interview with My Modern Met, including insights from Gracey and Lampert.