After training with the Portland Thorns well into her third trimester of pregnancy, Crystal Dunn gave birth to her son, Marcel, early Friday morning.
Dunn announced Marcel’s arrival via Twitter and Facebook, sharing the joy of the moment with husband and Thorns athletic trainer Pierre Soubrier. Marcel is the couple’s first child.
The soccer star’s baby weighs in at seven pounds even and measures 19.69 inches. He arrived at 2:48 a.m. Friday.
“I can’t believe I’m somebody’s Mama,” Dunn wrote in her post.
“It’s not an easy journey,” Dunn said in March, still training with the Thorns at seven months pregnant. “I think there’s a reason why a lot of us (athletes) haven’t taken this road. But I think the ones that have been through it, I definitely lean on their wisdom and their knowledge on having to navigate this and navigate the feeling of missing soccer. The road to motherhood is incredible, and it’s been such an experience so far.”
Motherhood is here for Dunn, and so begins the journey of balancing that with an eventual return to the pitch. She will have Soubrier by her side through all of it, both training and parenting. And someday down the road, Marcel will be in the stands cheering on his mom.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com
