Long back, besides the athletic contests held at ancient Olympia, there was a separate festival in honor of Hera (the wife of Zeus). But married women were not allowed to participate in the athletic con- tests of the Hera festival, and were barred on penalty of death from the Sanctuary of Zeus on the days of the athletic competition for boys and men.
Nevertheless, the year 1996 will long be remembered in sports history as the “year of the women”. As the inaugural modern Olympics games of 1896 in Athens, women were limited to the role of spectators-clapping and cheering for the 200 males athletes competing in a sport over two week period. A century afterward, more than 3000 active female assembled in Atlanta (USA) to compete 100 of 271 events held.
Helen Newington Wills, a tennis player, was one of the most publicized woman athletes of 1920. She won seven United States and eight English singles championships. She won 31 major championships. A record surpassed only Martina Navratilova.
Most women can carry on physical activities without any ill-effect during their pregnancy. Studies show that motherhood impacts athletic performance in complex ways.
However, many Indian and foreign athletes return to sports after giving birth. There are many historic examples from the athletics to help us befitting answer that with definitive authority.
There is, of course, a growing of moms on a sports tour. Like boxing superstar, MC Mary Kom, several other women are proving that motherhood does not have to end sporting careers. P.T.Usha, Shiny Wilson, Suman Rawat Mehta, Sarita Devi, Koneru Humpy, Sania Mirza, Anita Sheeran, Gursharan Preet Kaur, Amoolya Venkatesh, Sangeeta Bera, etc are some of the athletes who have bagged international and continental medals just after returning from maternity leaves.
The achievements of Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on the track for more than a decade have helped to elevate Jamaican athletics on the international scene.
The 32-year-old sprint queen, after skipping the 2017 world athletics competitions to give birth to her first child, delivered a speedy run to take the 100m in 10.7secs in her comeback.
Allyson Felix, who had won world championships in 2009, 2013, and 2015, failed to qualify the individual 400m event in Doha 2019, however, took gold in 4 x 400m mixed relay, riding America to victory in the world record time of 3:09:34 secs.
Allyson Felix won a record 12th gold, surpassing legend Usain Boult of Jamaica with the tally of 11 world championship golds. She came to world contests just 10 months after giving birth to daughters.
Serena Williams, Margate court, Evonne Goolagong, Kin Clijsters, etc. have bagged a grand slam title after returning from maternity leaves.
Margate Smith has been the winner of record 62 championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Her extraordinary record of success exceeds anything achieved by any other player. Many tennis judges rate her as the finest woman player of all time. In October 1967, she married Australian Barry Court. She also missed the 1972 and 1974 when she was having children.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus’s journey was disrupted by an injury and care of baby battle over son. Returning in March 2018 after the maternity break, Belarusian unseeded Azarenka shattered Serena William’s dream of winning the 24th singles Grand Slam. Serena was just a title away from creating history.
Both Evonne Fay Goolagong and Kin Clijestera returned after motherhood when their competition was stiff. Goolagong gave birth to her daughter in 1977 and won Wimbledon (the oldest and most important tennis tournament). Victoria Azarenka, who had a son in December 2016, in the semis of US Open 2020, she had to settle for second place coming from a set down to stun the former world numero uno, Serena Williams.
Even the accomplishment of Netherland’s Fanny Blankers Koen in the 1948 London Olympics failed to relax the rigid mindset of the male sports officials. She was the first female to win four gold medals in the 1948 summer Olympics. Fanny was 30 years old, mother of two children aged seven and two. Koen won the 100m (11.9secs), 80m hurdles (11.2-Olympic record), 200m (24.4 sec.) and 4 x 100m relay (47.5sec). Fanny also held the world record in the high jump.
No doubt, studies show that mother- hood impacts athletics performance complex way, mom athletes from across all the sports are beating every odd in their ways.
The writer is a former Associate Professor at the University of Delhi and a Consultant at the Limca Book of Records.
