Images: Getty
When our newest rowing gold medallists, Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis, first crossed the finish line after their victory in the double sculls, there was one precious pit stop that needed to happen before they received their much-deserved medals – a cuddle with their cute kids!
Handed down by their proud dads, Jeff and Brooklyn, in the stands, Lucy’s son Rupert and Brooke’s daughter Keira – proudly decked out in black merchandise bucket hats – were the first to celebrate with rowing’s newest superstars… Or, as the world’s media has dubbed them, the “super mums”.
Asked who she thinks of when she looks down at her shiny new gold medal, Lucy, 33, says it’s mainly Brooke, 29.
“Having done this together, I know what it takes for the both of us to be here. We’ve had to rely on each other on the tough days,” she says. “I’m not going to lie, it’s been a long build back.
“But I also think of our families, our partners. We’ve had to rely on a lot of people for that extra bit of support when it felt it was a goal that was just too big.
“We want to thank everyone from home and everyone who’s been cheering for the mums!”
It’s been a glorious Games for our Kiwi Olympians. Lucy and Brooke’s incredible gold came after our epic win in the women’s sevens, five-time Olympian Emma Twigg, 37, snatched silver in her Olympic swansong, and our women’s four rowing quad – which included Lucy’s sister Phoebe Spoors, 30 – won bronze.
Then, Dame Lisa Carrington, 35, landed her seventh Olympic medal, her sixth gold, with the women’s K4 500 crew of Alicia Hoskin, 24, Olivia Brett, 23, and Tara Vaughan, 20.
Kiwi women have done incredibly well in the cycling too. Ellesse Andrews, 24, comfortably won a magnificent gold in the women’s keirin race. Ally Wollaston, 23, Bryony Botha, 26, Emily Shearman, 23, and Nicole Shields, 24, won silver in the women’s pursuit cycling. The women’s sprint cycling team of Ellesse, Rebecca Petch, 26, and Shaane Fulton, 23, also claimed silver.
Our female athletes are enjoying huge levels of personal support in Paris too. Particularly from friends and family who have made the trip from Aotearoa to be there for their talented loved ones.
Ellesse, whose dad Jon was an Olympic cyclist and is now her coach, says it’s been a phenomenal experience.
“It’s just so special to have all of our friends and family watching,” she tells. “We can really feel them in the crowd.”
Rowing legend Emma agrees. She says finally getting to hug her son Tommy after a six-week separation was a true highlight, following her silver medal win that accompanies her gold from Tokyo.
“Hopefully, one day, he’ll look back and be able to put on Māmā’s medals. Then, he’ll be really proud of what I’ve done,” she told the Herald. Emma later added that her silver was probably destined for Tommy’s toy box. “And hopefully he feels like he can chase his dreams too.”
Emma’s wife Charlotte was on-hand to watch her partner row to glory. She dubbed her the “GOAT in a boat” on Instagram.
“She’s a national treasure. One of our greatest ever,” Charlotte wrote, accompanied by pictures of Tommy, as well as Emma’s parents.
“I’ve felt extremely privileged to be a part of this journey. I feel so lucky that our son gets to grow up with such an incredible role model as his māmā,” she said. “You should be so proud of yourself, Em.”
Medalling as a mother has been a recurring theme throughout this Games. Lucy added that they’ve received praise and support around the world from other sporty mums.
“We’ve had a lot of messages from competitors and other teams saying they really respect what we’re doing,” tells Lucy. “They’ve said, ‘We want to say thanks because we haven’t seen it done much in our sport. We really respect that you’re giving it a nudge and we hope you go well.’”
And while so many of our wonder women have been inspiring other mums across the country, our cyclists and terrific trio of pole vaulters – Eliza McCartney, 27, Olivia McTaggart, 24, and Imogen Ayris, 23, are doing the same for the next generation of girls after all three incredibly qualified for the final.
Plagued by Achilles injuries, Eliza, who picked up a bronze medal in Rio, smiled throughout the entire competition, even after her third failed attempt at 4.80m ended her medal chances.
The incredible athlete told reporters, “To be able to get to a final and come sixth equal, I’ll absolutely take that!”
Read about the other talented athletes who represented New Zealand in the 2024 Paris Olympics here.
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