Moms of the 2012 Summer Olympics
The moms of the 2012 Summer Olympics offer inspiration for all of us who try to juggle work, family and personal interests. Many return to training shortly after giving birth. Their dedication to their sports can take them away from family but also provides quite a role model for young children everywhere.
As I watched the Olympic moms from the comfort of my sofa, I resolved yet again to find time to exercise and to pursue my passions outside of the day job and and kids. The only annoying part of watching the 2012 London Olympics: listening to my husband rave about beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings.
The U.S. Olympic Committee lists 13 moms as members of Team USA. Here are profiles of a few of the most prominent Olympic moms.
I suppose I can't blame my husband. Olympic mom Kerri Walsh Jennings does rock a mean red bikini bottom, despite having two babies in between the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The back-to-back maternity leaves contributed to the gold medal that Walsh and teammate Misty May-Treanor brought home from London. They added them to their collection of golds from 2008 and 2012.
Kerri Walsh Jennings came in fourth in the 2000 Olympics as part of the indoor volleyball team, before she teamed up with May-Treanor to form an unbeatable duo. Walsh even played while pregnant with son Joseph, who was born in May 2008. Little brother Sundance followed in May 2009. The 6'3" graduate of Stanford University was born in 1978 in Santa Clara, Calif., and is married to Casey Jennings, a top U.S. men's beach volleyball player.More »
Bicyclist Kristin Armstrong -- no relation to the world-famous Lance Armstrong -- competed in the 2012 Olympics as a mom for the first time. She became pregnant between Olympics and gave birth to son Lucas in September 2010. Her debut on the Olympic stage was in 2008 when she won gold in the road cycling individual time trial.
Born August 11, 1973, in Memphis, Armstrong swam and ran as a child, becoming a Junior Olympian in swimming by the time she was 17. As a triathlete, she competed in the Hawaii Ironman World Championships before being diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Kristin Armstrong is 5'8" tall and 128 pounds, with blonde hair and green eyes. She lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Joe Savola.More »
Many working moms worry about the mommy track. Track and field athlete Lashinda Demus may have missed a spot on the 2008 team because of giving birth to identical twins Dontay and Duaine just a year before the qualifying trials -- a pregnancy that added 50 pounds to her 5'7" frame. She came back with a vengeance in September 2009, winning gold in the 400 meter hurdles at the World Championship of Athletics, breaking the American record and setting the third fastest time in history.
"I just want to see people happy, that's all that matters," Demus says on her Web site. "I get up every morning and take my body to max capacity. I want to be the best … a world record holder and gold medalist. I've been working so hard. I wouldn't let a little more hard work stop me."
Lashinda Demus was born March 10, 1983 in Inglewood, California.More »
Christie Rampone has competed as part of the U.S. women's soccer team in every Olympics since 2000, despite having daughter Rylie in 2006 and daughter Reece in 2010. We could all take career lessons from this champion.
Born June 24, 1975, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Christie Rampone now lives in Manasquan, N.J., and serves as captain of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. She's a celebrity spokesperson for K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital and won sportswoman of the year in 2009 and "most respected mom in sports" in 2010.More »
A fan favorite on the basketball court, Candace Parker often is accompanied by her daughter Lailaa, born in 2009, to games and even onto the court. Parker brought home an Olympic gold medal in 2008 and won multiple basketball awards. She plays professionally for the Los Angeles Sparks and has a powerful sports marriage with Brooklyn Nets forward Shelden Williams, who is also an Olympic gold medalist.
Born April 19, 1986, Candace Parker stands 6' 4" tall and plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg of Russia in the off-season. She graduated from Tennessee with a major in sports management and a minor in psychology.More »
As I watched the Olympic moms from the comfort of my sofa, I resolved yet again to find time to exercise and to pursue my passions outside of the day job and and kids. The only annoying part of watching the 2012 London Olympics: listening to my husband rave about beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings.
The U.S. Olympic Committee lists 13 moms as members of Team USA. Here are profiles of a few of the most prominent Olympic moms.
1. Beach Volleyball Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings
I suppose I can't blame my husband. Olympic mom Kerri Walsh Jennings does rock a mean red bikini bottom, despite having two babies in between the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The back-to-back maternity leaves contributed to the gold medal that Walsh and teammate Misty May-Treanor brought home from London. They added them to their collection of golds from 2008 and 2012.
Kerri Walsh Jennings came in fourth in the 2000 Olympics as part of the indoor volleyball team, before she teamed up with May-Treanor to form an unbeatable duo. Walsh even played while pregnant with son Joseph, who was born in May 2008. Little brother Sundance followed in May 2009. The 6'3" graduate of Stanford University was born in 1978 in Santa Clara, Calif., and is married to Casey Jennings, a top U.S. men's beach volleyball player.More »
2. Mom and Cyclist Kristin Armstrong
Bicyclist Kristin Armstrong -- no relation to the world-famous Lance Armstrong -- competed in the 2012 Olympics as a mom for the first time. She became pregnant between Olympics and gave birth to son Lucas in September 2010. Her debut on the Olympic stage was in 2008 when she won gold in the road cycling individual time trial.
Born August 11, 1973, in Memphis, Armstrong swam and ran as a child, becoming a Junior Olympian in swimming by the time she was 17. As a triathlete, she competed in the Hawaii Ironman World Championships before being diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Kristin Armstrong is 5'8" tall and 128 pounds, with blonde hair and green eyes. She lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Joe Savola.More »
3. Track and Field Star Lashinda Demus
Many working moms worry about the mommy track. Track and field athlete Lashinda Demus may have missed a spot on the 2008 team because of giving birth to identical twins Dontay and Duaine just a year before the qualifying trials -- a pregnancy that added 50 pounds to her 5'7" frame. She came back with a vengeance in September 2009, winning gold in the 400 meter hurdles at the World Championship of Athletics, breaking the American record and setting the third fastest time in history.
"I just want to see people happy, that's all that matters," Demus says on her Web site. "I get up every morning and take my body to max capacity. I want to be the best … a world record holder and gold medalist. I've been working so hard. I wouldn't let a little more hard work stop me."
Lashinda Demus was born March 10, 1983 in Inglewood, California.More »
4. Soccer Player Christie Rampone
Christie Rampone has competed as part of the U.S. women's soccer team in every Olympics since 2000, despite having daughter Rylie in 2006 and daughter Reece in 2010. We could all take career lessons from this champion.
Born June 24, 1975, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Christie Rampone now lives in Manasquan, N.J., and serves as captain of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. She's a celebrity spokesperson for K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital and won sportswoman of the year in 2009 and "most respected mom in sports" in 2010.More »
5. Basketball Player Candace Parker
A fan favorite on the basketball court, Candace Parker often is accompanied by her daughter Lailaa, born in 2009, to games and even onto the court. Parker brought home an Olympic gold medal in 2008 and won multiple basketball awards. She plays professionally for the Los Angeles Sparks and has a powerful sports marriage with Brooklyn Nets forward Shelden Williams, who is also an Olympic gold medalist.
Born April 19, 1986, Candace Parker stands 6' 4" tall and plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg of Russia in the off-season. She graduated from Tennessee with a major in sports management and a minor in psychology.More »
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