FEATURE
MOTHERHOOD
– the ultimate endurance event
May is all about celebrating the moms in our lives, with Mother’ s Day celebrated on 10 May this year. We caught up with a few of SA’ s famous athlete moms – some retired from their respective sports, and some who returned to competition, to find out how motherhood has changed their lives …
I think the kind of example I ' d hope to set for my children would definitely be to let your actions speak for yourself and your words speak for others. So, to let your hard work and your consistency and your discipline be what people remember you for … doing the hard work day-inday-out, setting a good example, really pushing yourself to be the best version of yourself through your actions, and then letting your words be the ones that are encouraging other people, cheering other swimmers or teammates on, uplifting and encouraging wherever you can.
EMMA PRINSLOO( NÉE CHELIUS)
Retired Olympic swimmer and mom to daughter, Lily.
I would definitely say that having my own daughter now makes me really determined to try and give back to swimming as much as possible and make it a sport that she would want to pursue.
In terms of my identity as a former athlete, I feel very satisfied and proud of what I accomplished during my swimming career and I feel like it was definitely the right time for me to move on to the next chapter to start a family.
I do really miss competing and I miss swimming, but it ' s something that I definitely feel like I will carry on doing for life. Not the competing part, but definitely the swimming part.
The resilience and the kind of digging deep that you develop over time as an athlete helps push through some of the hard moments of motherhood, which are inevitable. Just dealing with some of the physical and emotional tiredness that comes with really giving all that you have in the pursuit of something … because as incredible as motherhood is, it ' s also very demanding and very challenging.
And I think that strength of character that you build as an athlete really translates to that extra bandwidth that you then have as a mom.
That ' s really something that I hope people will remember me for as a swimmer instead of my times in the pool.
JANINE VAN WYK
Retired Banyana Banyana player and mom to son, Reece.
Becoming a mother shifted my perspective completely. Football was always a huge part of my identity, but now it ' s no longer everything and that ' s actually been freeing. It’ s given me a deeper sense of purpose beyond the game. I still love the sport just as much, but I see it more as a platform and a chapter of my life and not the full definition of who I am.
I was surprised by how instinctive it is. You can read all the books or get all the advice, but when your baby arrives, something just clicks. Also, the emotional side surprised me on how deeply you feel everything. The love, the worry, the responsibility, it’ s just on another level.
In football you learn that things don’ t always go your way, but you keep showing up. It’ s the same with motherhood. There is no perfect game plan, so you learn to adapt, stay calm under pressure and keep going no matter how tough it gets.
In terms of setting an example for my children, I want them to see that hard work, consistency and passion matter. That you can chase your dreams but also evolve as a person when life changes. I want them to understand that success isn ' t just about trophies but about character, resilience and how you treat people along the way.
There is no perfect timing in terms of motherhood. Trust your journey. It ' s possible to have both a career and a family, but it takes planning and support. Don ' t let fear be the reason you hold back. Your career might look different, but it doesn’ t mean it’ s over.
In some ways [ the fact that I had retired made motherhood ] easier because I could be fully present and not split my focus, but also harder, because stepping away from something that’ s been your identity for so long isn’ t simple. It’ s a huge transition on both sides. You are learning to be a mom while also redefining yourself. Over time, you eventually find your balance.
14 www. modernathlete. co. za