Once motherhood spelled the end of a sporting career, but more mothers than ever are competing at this year's Olympics and Paralympics. The athletes' village even includes a nursery for the first time. Two Team GB mothers share their experiences of balancing elite sport with raising children.
Nekoda Smythe-Davis, a Commonwealth gold medal-winning judoka, described being an athlete mother as 'the hardest job in the world'. She said: 'It is such a juggle; a balancing act. You feel like you’re burning the candle at both ends and you are trying to give 100% to two different areas – in some ways you are splitting yourself in two – but it is rewarding when you get it right.'
After the Tokyo Olympics were postponed due to the pandemic, Smythe-Davis decided to start a family. She prepared for childbirth as if it were a mini-Olympics, training throughout pregnancy. 'I knew that birth can be tough on the body, and wanted to make sure I had the stamina for it,' she said. 'Training while pregnant kept me grounded and gave me a goal.'
Bianca Williams, a European and Commonwealth 4x100m gold medallist, gave birth to her son ZL two days before the first lockdown. She found the isolation challenging but also liberating. 'It was hard not being able to see anyone, but we also didn’t have people in our ear saying: “You need to hold him like this,”' she said. 'We just did what we thought was right.'
Both athletes noted significant physical changes after childbirth. Smythe-Davis said: 'I don’t feel like the same me that I was before I had kids. The way my body looks and feels is completely different. It is like you go through a process of remoulding and reshaping and turning into a brand new athlete.' Williams added: 'I had cellulite, which I’d never had before. It was so weird for me because I’m used to having a fit and toned body.'
A WhatsApp group for athlete mothers, set up by the UK Sports Institute, has provided vital support. Smythe-Davis said: 'When you are at stickier points, there are other people you can lean on and vent to. It is so helpful, having somewhere you can say, “I’m trying this”, or “This isn’t working”, because so much of motherhood is trial and error.'
