A special day for these athletes. They are mothers and successful

It's time to take a look at extraordinary women who combine motherhood with a career. Their stories inspire and show that willingness, determination and support allow you to successfully combine these two, seemingly distant areas of life.

Adrianna Sułek

At the beginning of this year, Adrianna Sułek-Schubert announced the birth of her son Leon. Despite her pregnancy, the athlete trained hard to be able to go to the Olympic Games and fight for a medal in Paris. The Pole sacrificed one important event – the world championships in Budapest – to become a mother.

Adrianna Sułek-Schubert was assisted in her training during her pregnancy by a coach and a physiotherapist, who supported her in her decision and fight for the Olympic Games. After her birth, the athlete did not slow down and continued preparations to fight for the best result in the all-around. “Guess who's back. Ready? I think not. I do,” the athlete and mother wrote on her Instagram on February 26, i.e. 18 days after giving birth!

The Irena Szewińska Memorial will be held on June 20 in Bydgoszcz. Adrianna Sułek, who returns to represent Poland internationally, will be present at this event.

Elina Svitolina

Going beyond Poland for a moment, we will go to our south-eastern neighbors from Ukraine. Elina Svitolina – a famous tennis player, who was also the third racket in the world in 2017, decided to interrupt her sports career due to pregnancy.

The 29-year-old has been married to French tennis player Gael Monfils since 2021. In turn, the couple announced the tennis player's pregnancy on May 15, 2022. Less than a year after this information, in January 2023, Elina Svitolina announced that she would return to the game.

As she announced, she did so. The Ukrainian returned to the tour at the beginning of April. Her first tournament after the break was the competition in Charleston. A moment later, in May 2023, Elina Svitolina won the competition in Strasbourg. It was her 17th title in her career.

After the break, the tennis player came back changed and her game seemed to have improved. The athlete proved this in Roland Garros 2023, when she reached the quarterfinals, where she only lost to Aryna Sabalenka. – I cannot compare my current performances to those before pregnancy. Everything is different. My game is completely different, I approach it all differently. But I am motivated like never before – she said after one of the tournaments, quoted by weszlo.com

Kaja Ziomek

Kaja Ziomek is a representative of Poland in speed skating and a two-time Olympian in 2018 and 2022. On November 9, 2022, she announced that she and her fiancé – Artur Nogal, a Polish speed skater and gold medalist of the Junior World Championships in Moscow 2010 and two-time Olympian – in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018, were expecting a child. “The most beautiful thing in the world is happening, we are going to become parents! It still sounds cosmic and unreal to me, but this is what we wanted most in the world,” she said.

In May 2023, the athlete announced that she had been a mother for a few days. “I haven't gotten used to this word yet, or the fact that a new man has moved into our house, but Tosiulka is the best and she's healthy and it's cool, even if we don't sleep sometimes,” she wrote.

After about 13 months of break, the speed skater returned to racing. In her bio on Instagram she wrote: “I'm returning to sport after a break,” we read. The Pole took part in the Polish championship, where she took fifth place. “It used to disappoint me, now it excites me,” she wrote in December last year. The athlete's goal is to participate in the 2026 Olympic Games, which will be held in Italy.

Those athletes who decided to become mothers are living examples that it is possible to reconcile these two demanding roles. Their stories are full of determination, strength and inspiration. They show that with appropriate support it is possible to combine success both in sports and in family life.