Top Aussie athletes on combining motherhood with elite sport
For some it was the realisation of the impossible dream, for others it was the sheer determination to return to the top. Meet 10 mums who are combining parenthood with a career as an elite athlete. WATCH THE VIDEO
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For some it was the realisation of the impossible dream, for others it was the sheer determination to return to the top. Meet 10 mums who are combining parenthood with a career as an elite athlete.
ELOISE WELLINGS, INDIA (6) AND SONNY (6 MONTHS)
Eloise Wellings took the start line, for the toughest race of her life.
The Olympic long distance runner was determined to make a comeback, 13 months after giving birth to her daughter India.
Months of gruelling sessions had led to this moment – her chance to trial for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
But, as the athletes lined up, a familiar little cry echoed across the ground.
And Wellings felt a tingling sensation.
“I was still breastfeeding at the trials, I actually had a let-down on the starting line, because I could hear India crying in the stadium,” Wellings said.
“Luckily, I was wearing a number on the front, so no one could see anything.”
But Wellings blitzed the trial and represented Australia in Glasgow.
She went on to compete at the 2012 Rio Olympic Games and the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Now, five months after giving birth to her second child Sonny, Wellings is fighting to return for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I always wanted to come back to my running career, and potentially go to Rio, but I wasn’t sure about how my body was going to respond,” Wellings said.
“I know other female runners who have come back successfully, but there’s also women who haven’t, because whether it’s the logistics, travel, the financial side, managing family stuff, it’s obviously challenging.”
Wellings had a four month break, before lacing up for her first run after India was born.
“I felt like my insides were going to fall out, everything was really soft and I felt super unfit, it felt really, really hard, and I was jogging at a slow pace.” Wellings said.
“It was horrible and it didn’t make me want to go out and try again.”
With limited research on returning to sport post-partum, Wellings’ team approached rehab as if she was recovering from a major pelvic injury.
“At first, it was building up your core around your pelvis, strength around your glutes, lots of stability exercises,” Wellings said.
“You must have grace with what you’ve been through, allow yourself to ease back into it, and you can’t set expectations too high initially.”
Six year later, Sonny was born, and Wellings was surprised at how much easier it was the second time around.
“With Sonny, I had the Tokyo 2020 Olympic carrot dangling, I had to start training earlier,” Wellings said.
“So three weeks after he was born, I went for a ten minute jog around my local oval and I felt fine. I felt like myself a lot sooner.
“I really couldn’t write a book on how to do it, I just go day to day. It’s a massive team effort between me, my husband and our parents.”
Wellings said many female athletes put off having kids, due to fears that pregnancy will end their careers.
But the 37-year-old believes starting a family has made her a better runner.
“You never know when you’re going to peak as a distance runner, while everything is going well, why would you stop for 18 months? But having a family has relaxed me,” Wellings said.
“I used to get injured a lot because I was trying to force things, running was my only focus. I still want to win 100 per cent, but I don’t have time to dwell on little things, like if I have a bad session,
“Now, I leave it all on the track. I go home, put my mum hat back on, and be present.”
CASEY SABLOWSKI, 31, HARVEY (2), LEWIS (1)
Former Hockeyroo Casey Sablowski sat down with her coach, three weeks after giving birth to bub Harvey.
The three-time Olympian was agonising over whether she should be announcing her return to or retirement from the national team.
“To be honest, I was turned off by some of the responses from him, it was probably because I wasn’t overly decisive myself too,” Sablowski said.
“He wasn’t giving me much confidence that it could work, or that they’d support it in the way you’d hope. I wanted him to say, this is what we can do and offer you, but it was very blasé — that process was very daunting.”
In the end, Sablowski moved back to the east coast.
She was playing club hockey and fell pregnant with her second son, when the Hockey One competition was formed.
Sablowski wanted in.
After Lewis was born, the midfielder pushed through six months of rehab and was selected for NSW Pride.
“You need support, particularly family support. I had the support of Hockey NSW, who I was working for, and they were supportive of me needing to look after children,” Sablowski said.
“And you can’t be too hard on yourself, don’t expect you’ll be the same athlete that you were, a lot of things change.”
MIRANDA GOODWIN, 26, MAX (4), WILSON (2)
Ironwoman Miranda Goodwin has the best cheer squad – her two boys Max and Wilson.
The 26-year-old fought back to form after having kids and competed in the Nutri-Grain IronWoman Series over summer.
“The boys were my motivation to get back into it,” Goodwin said.
“They went to all the races, even the ones down in Sydney and they’d always came up and gave me a big cuddle at the finish,
“I’ll always remember my last race, I didn’t race as well as I’d hoped, Max came up and gave me a big hug and said it’s OK mummy, we still love you.”
It was the first time Goodwin had qualified for IronWoman since she was 16.
Injury kept her out of the series, but after giving birth to Wilson, Goodwin was determined to make a comeback.
Juggling 20 hours of training, full time work and raising a family was hard, but Goodwin had support from her husband and family.
“I almost felt in a weird sense stronger than having them before, you’ve got more of a purpose to be there,” Goodwin said,
“You also have to be a bit selfish and put yourself first, and sometimes mums forget to do that, they always put their kids first.
“But it’s OK to put yourself first sometimes. You won’t regret it.”
HILISHA SAMOA, 34, LENNOX (13), EVANDER (8), APOLLO (3), MONICA (23-MONTHS) AND LICIA (7 MONTHS)
Two months after giving birth to her fifth child Licia, Hilisha Samoa got a call from the Queensland Reds.
The club wondered if the former Wallaroos prop was keen to play rugby in 2020.
“I looked in the mirror and thought, there’s no way I’m ready for elite sport,” Samoa said
“But then I thought, I’ve done this before, and you have to start somewhere.”
Samoa starred for the Wallaroos in the 2017 Rugby World Cup before focusing on motherhood.
The 34-year-old spoke to her support network – her mother and sister.
They were confident it would work and offered to babysit while Samoa attended training and games.
“I rocked up to the first training, and the girls were fit, far out, and I couldn’t fit into any of my old rugby gear,” Samoa said.
“But the kids are a big motivator, I wanted to show them I could do it.”
After a two-year break, she ran out for the Reds women’s team in a trial match against Fiji.
“If you find the right support, and plan your time, you can do it,” Samoa said.
“I just trusted the process and enjoyed it, because it can be crazy at home, and I just stuck with it and it’s worked.”
SAM BREMNER, 28, REEF (9 MONTHS)
Nothing could prepare Sam Bremner for the pain of catching a spiral bomb while breastfeeding.
And the Jillaroos fullback is no stranger to pain – she’s snapped her fibula in half, broken toes and plays one of the toughest sports in Australia.
But three months after the birth of her son Reef, Bremner was caught off guard at training.
“I did some work with the kickers in the Dragons team, and when the ball hit my chest, it was just excruciating,” Bremner said.
“Even a light footy hitting my chest was horrible, I remember thinking that I’d never be able to play rugby league while breastfeeding.”
As Bremner increased her physical workload, her production of milk decreased, so she stopped breastfeeding when her son was four-months-old.
Two months later, the 28-year-old made her comeback to rugby league at the NRL Nines in Perth.
And now, she has called for more research on returning to elite sport post-partum.
“I couldn’t find anything on Google, the NRL had no policies, which isn’t their fault, they’ve never had to deal with this before,” Bremner said.
“It took a lot of pestering people, asking a million questions, talking to teammates who have had kids, it was frustrating, but I want to be a part of that information source now.
“I even reached out to sports people via Instagram, Kara Saunders (CrossFit), she had a baby a couple of months before me, so I reached out to her about rehab and she wrote back to me.”
Bremner was referred to a doctor and physiotherapist specialising in assisting female athletes post childbirth and immediately began a strength training program.
She was told to hit the weights, as soon as her caesarean cut healed.
“You lose things you take for granted, things like balance, getting that and my core strength took the longest to get back,” Bremner said.
When she fell pregnant, the fullback couldn’t wait to tell Jillaroos head coach Brad Donald.
“I’d had conversations with him before about juggling a footy career and being a mum … I didn’t want to share my commitment of being a mum and a footballer, I’d feel guilty for doing that, that the baby wouldn’t get enough attention,” Bremner said.
“But he told me if anyone can do it, you’re the person who can do the two things at once.
“Not only did he say we’ll help you get back to football, but he also told me about how amazing it was to be a parent, and how he loves being a dad.”
At a recent Jillaroos session, Bremner topped the run tests, achieved a personal best and set a new camp record.
The fullback said she was extra motivated to return to footy to show her teammates that women can play rugby league and have kids.
“Now that I’ve had Reef and I know how it feels, I want them to experience the same thing,” Vremner said.
“People tell you that being a parent is the most wonderful thing but, because you’re not one, you don’t quite understand it. Once this child comes in, it fully changes you 100 per cent for the better.”
TAMSYN MANOU, 41, IZABELLA (5) AND OLIVER (2)
Tamsyn Manou was warming up for national championships in 2016, when she realised her career as an elite athlete was over.
At 38, two years after giving birth to daughter Izabella, she finally accepted that her mind would never be the weapon it once was.
“I remember standing on that start line, thinking this will be my last race for sure,” Manou said.
“Before a race, I used to think, I need to win, it will be the end of the world if I don’t win.
“But I was thinking that I’d rather be with Izabella, doing something fun with my husband, my mindset had completely changed.”
Manou also struggled to return to her old self physically too.
The Olympian saw women’s health physiotherapists, did her pelvic floor exercise and attended every post-natal class she could find.
“My daughter was born with forceps, there was a lot of damage done, that might be too much information, but that’s just how it goes sometimes,” Manou said.
“And my body just never recovered from birth, it’s still not the same. I’m fit enough, but not enough in terms of being an elite athlete.”
Not every athlete can make a comeback after having kids. It’s a reality that took Manou years to accept.
“I still bounced back, I went to a national championship and won a medal, but for someone who was used to winning nationals, I was really upset and disappointed and almost embarrassed,” Manou said.
“For all the mums who did inspiring things, there’s a few of us who can put our hands up and say, oh my gosh I just couldn’t do it. And that’s OK.”
The 41-year-old said her kids Izabella and Oliver are an absolute blessing – one she once worried she’d never have.
Manou and her husband agreed to start a family after she’d had a crack at qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics.
And taking a newborn around the world for qualifying events seemed like a financial and logistic nightmare.
“I remember in 2009, I was running around the warm up track, I had an athletics coach say to me, if I kept running, I’d have to go and see his wife at IVF,” Manou said.
“He didn’t know anything about me, I was so taken aback … it makes you go, am I doing the right thing? Should I stop my athletics and take that different path of being a mum?”
Fortunately, Manou and her husband had no issues falling pregnant with her two kids.
“I wasn’t able to be that athlete who was brilliant and able to come back and compete and perform so well,” Manou said.
“I admire the mums that are able to do it, but it’s good for people to see this side of the story.
“It’s inspiring to see mums doing so well, but some of us struggle, it’s not easy, everyone’s birth and recovery is so different.”
CORBAN MCGREGOR, 26, CARTER (9)
Nine-year-old Carter McGregor goes crazy for rugby league.
But there’s one problem – his mum Corban McGregor plays for the Sydney Roosters.
“Carter’s a big South Sydney fan, he takes after his dad,” McGregor said.
“He’s playing his fifth year of footy and is absolutely obsessed with rugby league.”
McGregor fell pregnant with Carter at 16 and went on to become one of the craftiest playmakers in the women’s games.
“I remember having a conversation with my dad at the start it was just a moment in time and that I’ve got so much time ahead to still play sport at whatever level I wanted,” she said.
“They kept me on track and enforced that it’s actually a massive blessing and doesn’t mean I have to stop playing sports at all.”
McGregor’s return to both netball and touch football was smooth sailing after childbirth.
The biggest challenge has been managing her time and commitments.
“The main thing for me is making the choice for being away from the family,” McGregor said.
“Obviously it’s only a small moment in our life that we can make the most of it but it’s hard when you’re missing out on events, your partners going to family things without you, it’s the choice we make and we do it for the love of footy, but it doe stake a toll.”
McGregor said rugby league players are concerned that pregnancy might impact their selection in elite teams.
“I’m getting to the point where I’d love to have another one (child), but I’ve got my goals set over the next couple of years with what I want to achieve in rugby league,” McGregor said.
“There’s definitely an element of that we just want to make the most of our career while we have it now … there’s so many young girls coming through there’s no guarantee you’ll have your spot when you’re back.
“But it’s definitely possible but I think a lot of girls are delaying starting families because of it for sure.”
LAURA GEITZ, 33, BARNEY (3), FRANK (10 MONTHS)
Laura Geitz was nine weeks pregnant, when the Queensland Firebirds won the ANZ Championship grand final in 2016.
Nobody in the netball world knew, except for her team doctor.
“I told the girls after we won the grand final, it went into extra time, it was one of the best days of my life,” Geitz said.
“We achieved what we wanted to as a team, then I got to tell everyone the amazing news in the change room at the end of that game.”
But the former Diamonds defender was stern about one thing – she was not retiring.
Six months after giving birth to Barney, Geitz returned to training with the goal of representing Australia at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
And she achieved it.
“I foolishly expected I’d pick up where I’d left off, I struggled with power, jumping, taking off, explosive five metre sprints” Geitz said.
“I felt like I had someone attached to both legs, and keeping my arms behind me, it was like starting from scratch.”
Geitz also struggled to keep her mind on netball, when she returned to training.
“I was constantly thinking, is he okay at home with the babysitter? I felt like I had this other priority in my life, beyond netball, and I felt a bit guilty that I didn’t have that focus.”
Travelling on the road with the Firebirds and the Diamonds also changed drastically.
Baby Barney and Geitz’s mother became unofficial members of the squads.
“Mum had him at the Commonwealth Games and was helping look after him for the two weeks,” she said.
“The team bus from the airport needed to have a car seat, we’d have to bring the pram and all the gear. Then you’ve also got team analysis and training runs.
“But Barney loved it, he had his first birthday in Perth, the girls threw him a party.”
LEA YANITSAS, 31, DINO (18 MONTHS)
There was a knock on the door of Olympian Lea Yanitsas’ hotel room door at 4am.
The Australian Stingers goalkeeper was already wide awake, looking after for her four-month-old son Dino.
She’d travelled from Sydney to Perth for her first national training camp since giving birth, and her cousin had just arrived for a babysitting shift.
“My husband was working at the time, so he couldn’t come, so my cousin from Perth came over,” Yanitsas said. “The entire time I was training, she looked after Dino for me in the hotel room.
Some 18 months after Dino was born, Yanitsas has worked her way back into the Stingers squad. The 31-year-old is adamant she couldn’t have done it without her strong support network of family and friends.
“It’s amazing how everyone has rallied around me, I feel like they deserve the accolade, not me,” Yanitsas said.
“Without their support, if my husband didn’t look after Dino in the morning when I trained, none of this happens.
“I can’t even begin to dream about the Olympics, if I can’t get to training in the first place.”
Yanitsas is also a women’s health physiotherapist and has helped many women back to activity after pregnancy.
With this insight, she was always confident that she could manage her return to water polo.
“I always had the dream of playing for Australia again after Dino, and at the time, I wanted to prepare for Tokyo 2020,” Yanitsas said.
“But when I was pregnant, the early days postnatally, it was so far-fetched, like a wild dream. I didn’t know what that would look like with a little baby.”
Gradually, Yanitsas increased her core and pelvic floor exercises.
And six weeks after her caesarean stitches healed, she jumped back into the pool.
“It was probably the longest time I’ve spent out of the water,” she said.
“And I didn’t go straight into training, it was mostly to see everybody, the social aspect of training is massive, my club is my extended family.
“And it felt incredible doing egg beater again [a style of swimming kick], egg beater is my happy place.”
Three months later, Yanitsas was back playing in the Australian National League.
“I was doing my exercises, just as I would tell clients to, at work. I was smart with my gym work, I had the physio to make sure my program was smart and safe,” Yanitsas said.
Yanitsas said advice she received from former Stingers captain and Olympic gold medallist Bronwyn Smith (nee Mayer) was key to her journey back into the water.
“I haven’t paved the way alone, Bronwyn returned to the national team after having her son,” Yanitsas said.
“I relied on her a lot for support and advice, she made me realise my thoughts and feelings weren’t unusual or uncommon.”
The Stingers goalkeeper said support and resources are vital for female athletes trying to return to elite sport after childbirth.
“Having access to a women’s health physio is so important, I truly believe you can achieve wonderful things if you have the right support, knowledge and advice,” Yanitsas said.
DAISY PEARCE, 31, SYLVIE (1) AND ROY (1)
Daisy Pearce always knew sleep was important.
But it wasn’t until she gave birth to twins Sylvie and Roy, that the AFLW star truly understood the difference it can make.
Determined to play footy again, the Demons skipper would arrive for training at 4pm – some 11 hours after waking up to look after her babies.
And she was exhausted.
“The coach would bring us in, in the middle of a training session, to tell us what we were doing next, I remember breaking away from the huddle thinking, I don’t know what he said, I don’t know what we’re doing,” she said.
“It’s good that I’ve played a lot of footy so I could just go to the back of the line and just work it out.”
Breastfeeding also proved challenging in the fast-moving, time-poor team environment.
“Sometimes there’d be minor changes in the schedule that no one would even think about, like bringing the team meeting forward ten minutes,” she said.
“And I’d be like, shit, that means I can’t express, so I’d be putting on the third or fourth crop top to deal with the fact that I hadn’t expressed.”
But one year after the twins were born, Pearce ran out again for Melbourne.
She credits her comeback to her support network and working for the club in an off-field role while pregnant.
“I still had to come into training, I still felt like I had a purpose and I was contributing to the team,” Pearce said.
“If I hadn’t had that, you become more and more distant from it, and it could be easy to lose touch with it.”
The 31-year-old said there’s no blueprint to returning to sport – athletes just need to take time and listen to their bodies.
“There were sessions I had to stop halfway through, there were days I couldn’t leave the house because we didn’t have enough hands on deck. I had to modify what I was doing,” she said.
“But it all adds up and it all counts, so don’t get bogged down on what ‘perfect’ looks like.”