2022 Ironman World Champ Chelsea Sodaro prepares for her next race while advocating for fellow athletes who are also moms.
Being an elite triathlete like Chelsea Sodaro requires a unique level of commitment. It’s about training full-time, year-round, for a handful of marquee races, and none is bigger than the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaiʻi. It’s a grueling 140-mile test of endurance made up of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike race, plus a full 26.2-mile marathon.
In 2022, her rookie year at Ironman Kona, Chelsea not only outperformed her professional competitors, crossing the finish line in just under 8 hours and 34 minutes, but she did so just 18 months after giving birth to her daughter Skylar. In the process, Sodaro became only the second mother ever to win at Kona.
It’s a win that’s made even more remarkable considering what was happening behind the scenes. On the latest episode of How She Does It, Chelsea Sodaro shared with Karen Finerman how she rose to the top of her sport while overcoming postpartum anxiety and depression. Now, as Sodaro prepares for the 2025 Ironman World Championship, she is using her platform to make her sport a more welcoming and equitable place for new mothers.
Chelsea Sodaro: From Crisis to Comeback
Chelsea Sodaro, who held national titles in the 10K and 3,000m, never expected to take on the triathlon. After a disappointing performance at the 2016 Olympic trials, she found herself at a crossroads, unsure whether she could keep her sponsorships and continue to make money as a professional athlete. “I had a bit of an existential crisis,” she recalls. When her husband Steve suggested she try triathlons, she decided to give it a shot.
The transition to triathlons, specifically the Ironman 70.3 (or half-distance triathlons), proved transformative. But just as Sodaro’s career gained momentum, the pandemic hit. So at age 30, Sodaro made a choice: rather than wait out the racing hiatus, she decided to start a family with a plan to return to competition when racing opened back up.
The Hidden Struggle Behind the Victory
Chelsea Sodaro’s triumphant win at Kona in 2022 and the photos of her embracing Steve and their 18-month-old daughter Skylar at the finish line didn’t tell the whole story. Sodaro was struggling with postpartum anxiety and depression, which she says prevented her from fully enjoying her big win.
“I honestly believe that if I had had access to better support right after my daughter was born, to help me navigate all of our breastfeeding struggles, to help me navigate these early signs of postpartum anxiety… or easier access to mental health resources, maybe it wouldn’t have gone on for two years until I found myself in a very serious crisis,” she shares.
One way she’s pushing forward change is by hosting her inaugural “Unlocking Yes” event, which benefits For All Mothers+, a nonprofit working to support women athletes in motherhood through grants, advocating for policy changes, as well as providing lactation stations and childcare at major races.
Redefining Team Sport
Though triathlon competition is a solitary sport, Sodaro has built her success thanks to her team, which includes coaches, a physical therapist, a sports psychologist, a massage therapist, an aerodynamics specialist, and more.
“I never expected myself to be in a leadership role like this,” Sodaro admits. “If you’re leading the charge, you better show up with a super positive attitude and be working to bring out the best in yourself and the best in other people around you.”
Her husband, Steve, serves as her closest partner, managing equipment and day-to-day logistics, as well as calming her nerves on race day. When finding the right childcare proved problematic, he left his firefighting career to become a stay-at-home dad, a choice that has allowed Sodaro’s career to flourish.
The Power of “Yes, Yes, Yes”
On race day, there can be any number of obstacles: pain, rugged terrain, or getting kicked in the head during the swim.
Sodaro’s mental game centers on a simple mantra: “Yes, yes, yes.” Initially, it was her way to counterbalance her then-toddler’s habit of saying “no, no, no.” But the affirmation found its way into Sodaro’s racing. For her, it represents leaning into and pushing through those challenging moments.
“So often in life we’re faced with these pivotal moments of decisions where we can either choose the hard path or we can give up on ourselves a little bit,” she explains. “So I remind myself… that I am really there to challenge myself and say yes, when things get tough.”
As she prepares for her fourth Ironman World Championship, Sodaro remains focused on doing everything possible to be in peak physical and mental form on race day. “I want to see what I can do and what’s possible,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed the process so much, and in that way I feel like I’m a winner.”
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