Being an Olympian is hard. Being an Olympian after you’ve had children is even harder. It’s undeniable that having children has serious impacts on the body, which will consequently impact athletic performance. Despite this, New Zealand has sent seven strong women to the Olympics this year who are mothers that are showing that nothing is impossible.
When they were walking to the medal ceremony to receive their Olympic gold medals, rowers Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors stopped quickly by the stands to give their toddlers a hug. The spectators around were confused as to why they weren’t going straight to the podium, but it all made sense as they embraced their small children. Keira Francis and Rupurt Robertson who are both under two years old were very excited to see their mums after watching them on the water.
“I spotted them in the stands, managed to give them a little cuddle as well,” Francis said. “I think they are looking forward to getting their mums back.”
It’s obviously difficult to bounce back from childbirth, but to become an Olympic champion just over a year and a half later is extraordinary. Especially considering many of their opponents have not had children.
“It’s incredibly special,” Francis said. “Raising kids isn’t easy. It takes a village, and we’ve had that whole village behind us this whole way. It only makes that much more special. Even just the fact that our families are here, let alone our kids, and our kids get to see this legacy now.”
As well as the rowing pair, the New Zealand team consists of mothers in other codes also. Kite surfer Justina Kitchen is a mother of two, just like judo player Moira De Villiers and Equestrian Jonelle Price. Long distance runner Camille French is a mother of two-year-old Sienna, and she discussed her struggles with parenthood in an interview with The Post earlier this year.
“I couldn’t see how I could train, and look after Sienna, and breastfeed, then look after me and Cam. I just couldn’t fit it all in. I had no physical setbacks; it was all just around time. I didn’t ask family for enough help.”
She continued to try and adapt her schedule around having a child and still training, with her goal of reaching Paris this year her motivator.
“I thought if I’m going to ask for this help, I’m going to make this work,” she said. “I felt confident. I could see how hard everyone was working to help me. It made me so happy, so proud, so grateful. That was the way I could repay them.”
French will be competing in the women’s marathon this year, after qualifying in Valencia with a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 8 seconds.
“If people rush into it after having babies, sometimes they have setbacks. I thought if I was more conservative at the start, hopefully I’d have fewer setbacks later. It didn’t give me much room for error. Once I started, it was, ‘this has to work right now’.”
Her main inspiration for working so hard to become a two-time olympian after having a child was none other than our athletics legend Dame Valerie Adams. Adams has two children, a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2020, who suffers from type 1 diabetes. She also has two gold medals, one silver medal and bronze after attending four olympic tournaments. Her bronze medal was won in 2021, only a year after giving birth to her son.
In her interview with Stuff after winning the medal, she could only express emotion and gratitude that she had made it so far.
“I've worked so hard to be here today, I've worked so hard to put myself in this situation to where I had the opportunity to try and win a medal for New Zealand.” she said. “From the last Olympics to these Olympics, I've had two humans and these two children really inspired me. Throughout the competition I kept looking up to the stand, and kept imagining them there.”
“I just hope to continue to inspire female athletes all around the world. If you want to have a kid and you want to come back and be at the top of the world, you can ... you can absolutely do that.''
Being a mother makes you a superhero. Being a mother and representing your country at the highest level of sport makes you a legend.
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