Stephanie Bruce battles for U.S. Olympic spot 9 months post-pregnancy

1 year ago I was watching @bbjamin15 and my teammates race from the stands with my 1 year old and I was 7 months pregnant. Although 20th place today was far from what I had hoped and believed in and truthfully embarrassing, I fought hard to get here. The truth is heart can only take you so far. You need the months and years of consistent training. I don't have those yet after my kids but I plan on putting in the work. Thank you to the cheers, they wiped away my tears. Thanks for believing in me @naz_elite @hokaoneone @oiselle . To the fans of this crazy sport you make it all worth fighting for. #journeywithsteph #tracktownusa ?: @hokaoneone

A photo posted by Stephanie Rothstein Bruce (@stephrothstein) on Jul 2, 2016 at 4:18pm PDT

Stephanie (Rothstein) Bruce raced at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the women’s 10,000m on Saturday nine months after giving birth to her second child. Vying for a spot on the team for the Rio Olympics, Bruce fought hard and battled to a 20th place finish (34:27.48) at the highest level in U.S. track and field.

RELATED: Stephanie Bruce bares post-baby stretch marks and speaks honestly about postpartum training.

Bruce, 32, made media headlines in March for posting photos to Instagram showing her stomach post-pregnancy. Her message was “own the skin you live in, don’t be ashamed, support others, don’t body shame, know you’re not alone, and flaunt what you have.”

That was just before she ran the Olympic 10,000m standard on April 1 at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. She needed to finish top-three on Saturday to go to Rio. The trials are being held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

“One year ago I was watching [husband] Ben Bruce and my teammates race from the stands with my one-year-old and I was seven months pregnant,” Bruce wrote on Instagram after Saturday’s race. “Although 20th place today was far from what I had hoped and believed in and truthfully embarrassing, I fought hard to get here. The truth is heart can only take you so far. You need the months and years of consistent training. I don’t have those yet after my kids but I plan on putting in the work. Thank you to the cheers, they wiped away my tears.”

RELATED: Hilary Stellingwerff runs fastest time since pregnancy, hits Olympic standard.

Checking out girls already….

A photo posted by Stephanie Rothstein Bruce (@stephrothstein) on May 30, 2016 at 5:37pm PDT

Molly Huddle (31:41.62) won the women’s 10,000m and will be joined by Emily Infeld (31:46.09) and Marielle Hall (31:54.77) on the U.S. Olympic 10,000m squad.

Ben Bruce, Stephanie’s husband, raced in the men’s 10,000m the night before and finished 13th. Ben tweeted out that the last six weeks have been an “uphill battle” for Stephanie in reference to her training in the lead up to the trials.

RELATED: WATCH: Galen Rupp wins 8th straight U.S. 10K title with emphatic celebration.

The Canadian Olympic trials will be in Edmonton July 7-10 where athletes will attempt to qualify for the Rio Games, which are set to begin on Aug. 5.