Breaking the Stigma: Motherhood and Sport
Throughout society, there has long persisted the stigma that motherhood and elite sport are incompatible. Many sportswomen since the Victorian era have had to give up their sporting careers to start a family. Nevertheless, an increasing number of elite sportswomen are proving how outdated this stigma is and that motherhood and elite sport can go hand-in-hand. Whether medals are won post-pregnancy or not, these women are an inspiration to girls, women, and mothers everywhere.
In 2016, Helen Glover and Heather Stanning defended their coxless pairs Olympic title, claiming gold in Rio as they had done in London four years prior. As their last competition, the Rio gold completed their unparalleled five-year, 39-race unbeaten streak. On 28th January 2021, however, Glover, the two-time Olympic, triple World and European, and Quintuple World Cup rowing champion revealed in a thread of tweets that she would be attempting a comeback for the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
"I'm excited/anxious to share this with you...With the support of my family and unwavering backing from @SteveBackshall I've decided to attempt a comeback for the Tokyo Olympics. Being the best mum possible is always my priority, and I'm looking forward to trying to be the … best athlete I can be…"
While Glover had never announced her retirement, she had not planned to return to the competitive sport. In July 2018, she gave birth to a baby boy, Logan, and in January 2020, twins Bo and Kit. As reported by Team GB, after taking up rowing in the first lockdown in March 2020 to regain fitness following pregnancy, she soon saw herself recording competitive times. This success led to her exciting and inspiring comeback announcement just one year after childbirth. Already at the forefront of sporting history, Glover hopes to be "the first mother to make an Olympic team for @britishrowing".
As a mother in elite sport, Glover will join the likes of heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won a World Championship gold and Olympic silver post-pregnancy; world-class tennis champion Serena Williams, who won the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant; swimmer Dana Vollmer who won Olympic gold a year after giving birth; Paula Radcliffe, who competed in marathons and won the New York marathon post-pregnancy; and, Sarah Storey, who achieved an incredible haul of cycling medals after childbirth, including three Paralympic golds. Whilst this list continues, it is limited.
Why the Big Deal? A Short Background
But why is it such a big deal when mothers win medals and compete in elite sport – fathers do it, and mothers in other sectors resume their careers post-pregnancy. The stigma surrounding motherhood and sport is deeply rooted in society. From the Victorian era, the belief that women were primarily housewives and mothers tainted their sports participation. As a result, women, perceived as smaller and weaker than men, were deemed unfit for strenuous exercise that could jeopardise fertility and childbearing. Any activities they did enjoy had to reinforce femininity, such as croquet, tennis, and golf.
Olympic representatives continued to reinforce this into the mid-twentieth century. In 1954, even the British Olympic Medical Officer, Adolphe Abrahams, asserted that strenuous exercise impacted "potential mothers" both physically and psychologically (Abrahams, Woman: Man's Equal?, 1954). Yet beyond concerns of the female body, the very model of amateurism (unpaid) and elite sport jeopardised a mother's ability to compete. Though ideologies emerged in the 1950s and 1960s promoting the dual model of work and motherhood, this bimodal career pattern left little room for elite training. As a result, many women left sport to earn money and take care of their family.
Though the likes of Dutch track and field athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen trailblazed motherhood and sport in the 1940s, and Britain's Dorothy Tyler-Odam, June Foulds, and Mary Rand won Olympic medals following childbirth post-WWII, this was rare. Moreover, the tabloids reinforced the perception that a woman's primary duty was motherhood and fuelled the stigma that motherhood and sport were incompatible.
Why the Big Deal in the Twenty-First Century?
If you fast-forward to the twenty-first century, elite sportswomen continue to face the hardship of choosing between motherhood and sport. Though women can now pursue a career in sport, female athletes have experienced a cut in their funding or sponsorship, if not total removal, during pregnancy. As a result, women have faced intense pressures by funders to resume their pre-pregnancy performance levels within weeks of childbirth, as revealed by the BBC in 2017. Skeleton Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman experienced this following her first child.
Additionally, American Olympian Kara Goucher revealed to the New York Times that she had to resume training a week after childbirth in 2010; she learned that Nike would stop paying her until she started racing again. In fact, in light of Nike's admittance that pregnant athletes experienced performance-related pay cuts, as recent as 2019, runner Phoebe Wright dubbed pregnancy as "the kiss of death" in athletics. Nike only announced a new maternity policy after the New York Times report. This pressure to rapidly return to sport after childbirth, partnered with the need to balance childcare and training, has sealed the retirement of many sportswomen.
Though elite female sport took a hit in 2020 due to the pandemic, in 2019, England netball captain Ama Agbeze expressed concern to BBC Sport over the "significant decision" of starting a family as a high-profile athlete. At present, UK Sport guidance stipulates that if a female athlete becomes pregnant, she can continue to receive World Class Programme funding and support during and after childbirth with an agreed training and competition roadmap on her return. Nevertheless, this remains to be applied on a case-by-case basis, providing little security for sportswomen. Agbeze highlighted how specific maternal policies were needed to make female athletes feel "more comfortable" having children mid-career.
While efforts have been made in recent years to make maternity policy changes, the decision to start a family is not made easy for elite sportswomen. Triathlete Helen Jenkins made clear to the BBC in 2017 that "it shouldn't be a headline when someone does have a baby and then comes back to competing…", yet it remains that way. This fact highlights the progress to be made and how action needs to be taken to remove the taboo and support women who make that choice.
Why Glover's Announcement Is Important
Stigmas can often taint society and govern what we perceive as normal. Glover's very attempt at becoming the first mother in the British Olympic Rowing team stands alone in exposing how stigmas have controlled the sporting world. With mothers, like Glover, breaking the boundaries of elite sport, training hard and producing competitive times post-pregnancy, new role models are being created to remove the taboo and rewrite the narrative.
Though men are playing an increasing part in raising children and, too, endure sleepless nights and disrupted schedules, it is generally easier for men to return to elite sport than women. Significantly, their bodies are unimpacted by childbirth and breastfeeding. As Glover made clear to the BBC, her low iron levels and the toll of breastfeeding twins affects her training. Whether funders are pressuring a fast return to sport or not, having the energy to train at an elite level is not an easy task. Nevertheless, Glover proves that it is possible, training three times a day and sometimes incorporating her children into her training. Yet, importantly, she is also refreshingly realistic, understanding that sometimes she may not be able to train due to family commitments.
Significantly, the overwhelming support that Glover has received following her announcement is a positive sign that the stigma is breaking. With more people adopting this positive mindset towards mothers in sport, girls and women will understand that motherhood and sport are not mutually exclusive. Not too long ago, a woman's sporting achievements came second to her personal life, particularly in the tabloids. While there will always be critics, the support for Glover's return indicates that the dialogue surrounding sportswomen is changing to a focus on their achievements and future sporting feats.
Whether Glover wins a medal or not in Tokyo, whether she makes the team or not, she wants to and will prove to her "children…that they can achieve anything" and inspire girls and women everywhere to pursue their passions beyond motherhood. Importantly, with 1 in 3 women (32%) claiming that they could not prioritise doing exercise during the lockdown as they had too much to do for others and only a quarter of women remaining regularly active after the first six months of lockdown, Glover's announcement is a timely inspiration from elite to the grassroots level.
Of course, some women (and men) may want to give up elite sport to focus on their family. But the likes of Glover, Williams, and Storey, amongst many others, serve as a reminder that motherhood should not jeopardise a woman's ability to thrive in their sport and pursue their dreams.
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Written by Sophie Olver
Hi, I'm Sophie. I recently completed a masters in History at the University of Southampton and hope to enter the heritage sector. My heart lies with writing, swimming and running.