Being an athlete requires a lot of commitment and time. That includes early wake-ups, several hours of hard work in the sand and at the gym and a few more to take care of the body every single day. Extensive traveling and spending birthdays and anniversaries away from the family are also part of the package.
The daily routine of a beach volleyball player takes a toll on their personal lives, but somehow several fantastic women manage to conciliate those duties with the most special task they could ever have in their lives – be mothers.
Several stars battling at the Beach Major Series do so while also being fantastic mothers to their kids and it’s fair to say that motherhood is probably the most powerful source of motivation for them to continue pushing forward.
The five ladies highlighted below are just some of them and this is our Mother’s Day tribute for all mothers from our amazing beach volleyball family:
American superstar Kerri Walsh Jennings has three kids, a poetically-perfect match with the amount of Olympic gold medals she’s won. But don’t be fooled, nothing makes the best player of all-times prouder than Joseph Michael (10), Sundance Thomas (9) and Scout Margery (7).
Sanne Keizer thought she needed to leave beach volleyball to start her family. The adorable twins Puk and Kees were born five years ago and after some time their mother felt the beach was calling her again. The Dutch came back stronger than ever, winning the European Championships and World Tour medals left and right. Remember that little motivation thing?
Laura Ludwig won the Olympics and the World Championships in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017. With her main beach volleyball goals checked off her list in 12 months, the German star decided it was time to take a quick break to pursue her biggest dream. The cute Teo came to the world in 2018 and has already started following his mom’s adventures in the sand. That’s what you call a lifetime partnership.
Rebecca Cavalcanti became a mother when she was just 21. She was a promising talent in Brazil and her best years were clearly still ahead of her, but if she wasn’t a mother back then maybe she wouldn’t be the player she is right now. The five-year old Isabella is not only Rebecca’s best friend, she’s the reason the Brazilian defender works hard in the sand and tries to be the best she can every single day.
After competing in two Olympics, Liliana Fernandez thought family should take precedence over her career and stepped away from beach volleyball to give birth to Saul, who’s now two-years old. She returned to the sport and can you imagine what one of the first things she did was? Yes, she qualified to the Olympics once again. Think about a lucky charm…
Happy Mother’s Day!
