I had always imagined that being a mother was one of the most beautiful things in the world. When I gave birth to my first child four years ago, I discovered that I was right: without a doubt, it was the most special experience I have ever had, but at the same time it was a difficult task and a constant learning process.
Just after giving birth, I set myself one of the most ambitious challenges, if not the most ambitious, that I have ever set myself as an athlete: to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in less than a year. It was an arduous road that ended in a way that I would not have wanted. The organizing committee made it very difficult for me to take my son with me. The conditions were not feasible for me, but also for my family and team. I then had to decide between attending the Games and putting my eleven-month-old son’s breastfeeding at risk or giving up and throwing away all the work I had done.
From that moment on, I understood that no female athlete should give up on being a mother and no mother should give up on being an elite athlete. I felt the need to stand up for myself, and for many other female athletes, and fight to ensure that no female athlete has to give up on the dream of being a mother, if she wants to.
Thanks to experiencing motherhood first-hand, I have been able to understand the difficult and long road ahead, not only for athletes, but for all those women who decide to become mothers and have to balance work and family life. I feel fortunate to be able to dedicate part of my time to fighting for this cause.
After the Games, I started working to try to change and improve work-life balance in sport. The first step was to create, in 2022, the Maternity and Sport Commission of the Spanish Olympic Committee. We decided on the most basic measures that needed to be implemented urgently. One of the essential examples, without going any further, is being able to travel with the baby to competitions. Above all, to those with long stays, such as the Games, where you can be away from home for almost a month. This, of course, implies that, in these competitions, nursery schools and breastfeeding rooms are provided so that athletes can reconcile their family and professional life. These, and several other measures, were sent to the International Olympic Committee at the beginning of this year to try to have them implemented in Paris.
I am proud to think that, thanks to our work and that of many other athletes and technical teams around the world, these are the first Games in which these real and effective measures have been implemented. A few days ago, Pau Gasol, a member of the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee and who helped me to convey all this work to the IOC, proudly sent me photos he had taken of the breastfeeding room and the nursery school and I could not have felt greater satisfaction.
It’s nice to think that there are several mothers in the Spanish delegation who can take advantage of these benefits and focus on their goals: Ana Peleteiro, Maialen Chourraut or Teresa Portela, for example. Knowing that they will be able to spend time with their babies, in addition to a physical advantage, also represents an emotional and mental benefit for the athletes. These guidelines also benefit sports parents who wish to take advantage of them.
I am aware that my path to Tokyo as a mother was from a privileged position. I know that I have a voice and resources that not everyone has and that I also have an environment that has helped and pushed me whenever I have needed it. When I started all this, the objective was clear: to ensure that current mother athletes, as well as the future generation of athletes who want to be, do not have to choose between their careers and the desire to start a family. Looking back, as with my preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, the path has not been easy. It is clear that everything that has been achieved to date represents a step forward that was unthinkable just a few years ago and, in my opinion, very necessary. Fortunately, more and more bodies and federations are recognizing these needs and, consequently, adapting their policies to create more inclusive environments for mother athletes. There is still a long way to go, but this is the right direction.
This week I will be in Paris supporting the artistic swimming team. I am particularly looking forward to seeing my teammates compete, as well as seeing our delegation in the village and being able to encourage them. But I am also looking forward to seeing all the advances that have been implemented in these Paris Games and that we will fight to have adopted in other competitions as well.
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