Three-time Olympian Abbey Weitzeil and her husband, Michael Jensen, announced they will be having their first child together. The couple took to social media on Tuesday to share that they are expecting a baby boy in February 2026.
The news came almost a year after Weitzeil announced she would be taking a break from competitive swimming to “…live life for a second”. Since then, she certainly has had quite the eventful year. A few weeks after announcing her hiatus, Weitzeil and Jensen officially tied the knot on September 21, 2024. After the wedding, the two have enjoyed the last 11 months together, which included spending their honeymoon in South Africa.
Weitzeil and Jensen first met when they were teammates at UC Berkeley. They both joined the program in 2016, and halfway through their time there, they officially began dating. The two have had a lot of success in the pool, with Weitzeil making three Olympic teams, winning gold in the 4×100 medley relay in Rio and the 4×100 mixed medley relay in Paris. In addition, she qualified for the 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2023 U.S. World Championship teams, winning a total of three gold and eight total medals on relays at Worlds.
During her time at Cal, Weitzeil was a six-time NCAA champion, and she became the first woman ever to break the 21-second mark in the SCY 50 free, with her time of 20.90 from December 2019 standing as the American Record for over two years.
Meanwhile, Jensen has two international gold medals of his own, earning them at the 2018 Short Course World Championships where he contributed to U.S. wins in both the men’s 4×50 and 4×100 free relays. At the 2019 NCAA Championships, Jensen was a part of Cal’s winning 200 free relay, which helped give the Bears the men’s team title for the first time in five years.
Weitzeil originally planned to end her break in September, though her announcement of the baby didn’t come with any updates on her return to the sport. While her pregnancy certainly pushes her return back, it’s not unheard of for female swimmers to come back to competitive swimming after having a child.
Dana Vollmer, for instance, had her first child in 2015, before winning three medals at the Rio Olympics, including a gold with Weitzeil in the 4×100 medley relay. Five-time Olympian Sarah Sjostrom announced her pregnancy in February and has already shared that she hopes to return to the LA Olympics in 2028. Regardless, Weitzeil will have no problem extending her break for a few more months to have her baby before reassessing her return.
Congratulations to them! The colour of that cake some relief for US men’s swimming after Worlds, roll on the 2044 Olympics
I wonder if the kid will keep the last name “Weitzeil”
May I suggest the name Calvin Barry? Could go by Cal Bear for short…
Just a reminder that Phelps named his 4 boys the following: Boomer; Maverick; Beckett; Nico.
Maybe she can get some inspiration from those names.
Suggestions: Coomer (just one letter after “B”)
Bret (protagonist of the film Maverick)
Samuel (Samuel Beckett, the Irish playwright)
Velvet (The Velvet Underground & Nico)
you all are so weird
Yeah bro I’d totally name my kid Coomer
I named my kid Gooner
That kid is going to complete a 50 free in 15.7 by the age of 7
She should choose the name based off the top comment in the SwimSwam comment section and I expect to see a TikTok about it within the next few days
Swimmy McSwimface
“Andrew” would be the ironic choice but unnecessarily cruel to the child, even more so if it’s a girl.
They could always take the Peter and Tina Andrew route and go with Andrew and Andrea
Andrew and Andrewea
While she would be a welcomed presence if she does opt to return, I imagine Paris likely will end up being her final meet after all. It was such a remarkable note to wrap things up on and spending time with her family seems of paramount importance to her anyways. Since we all know she reads the comments, I sincerely hope she has another swim in her (but no worries if she ends up retiring officially), but, more importantly, I hope she has a safe and pleasant pregnancy, and that she and her husband’s growing family are healthy and happy!
Yeah she’s done
Don’t worry, she’ll find a way to hate you too.