Moms win rowing medals at Paris Olympics, celebrate their kids

New Zealand’s Brooke Francis, left, hands off daughter Keira and Lucy Spoors hands off son Rupert after winning gold in the women’s double sculls final at the Paris Olympics 2024, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

VAIRES-SUR-MARNE, France — A trio of moms won rowing medals at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, including veteran Helen Glover of Britain and New Zealanders Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis, who rowed together to victory less than two years after giving birth a few months apart.

Spoors and Francis won the gold medal in the women’s double sculls, while Glover — a mother of three — took silver in the women’s four.

Shortly after Spoors and Francis crossed the line, they were picking up their toddlers in the stands to hug them.

“I spotted them in the stands, managed to give them little cuddle as well,” Francis said. “I think they are looking forward to getting their mums back.”

The New Zealanders used to sing children’s songs during training sessions to motivate each other after rough nights waking up to care for their babies. They brought their families to Paris so they could focus on the competition.

“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.”

Spoors said she and Francis had been receiving messages of support from competitors and other teams saying how much they respected them.

“Brooke’s been doing exactly the same as me and, because we’re in the same position, I think we know what each other has been going through,” Spoors said. “So that’s been a real driving force underneath it all.”

Glover, who has spoken about the challenge of breastfeeding her children while training, went straight to high-five her children after finishing her race, then got to hug them after the medal ceremony.

“They were absolutely loving it,” she said.

Glover said she hoped their achievement Thursday would send a positive message to other athletes.

“I think that normalizing it is really important,” she said. “I think that to show that you can come back to something, whatever it is, whether it’s work, a hobby, sport … and come back and excel not despite having children, but because you have children. I think it’s a message to society to say there is space, there should be openness, there should be encouragement for women to come back and be whatever they want.”