Maria Leonor is 18 months old, is an unofficial member of the Portuguese canoe team and it is this status that allows her mother Joana Vasconcelos to stay in the top league and fight for another Olympic qualification.
The pursuit of a third Olympic participation is most special and different for Joana Vasconcelos, an athlete who broke the trend of high performance in Portugal by staying active while taking care of her daughter, who accompanies her both in training camps and in the most important international matches. matches.
“This is a decisive phase for me and psychologically it’s great to have her around. Since she still depends on me, while I’m breastfeeding, it wouldn’t be so easy for me. So I’m calmer”says Lusa,
Joana’s mission is made possible by the fact that her husband, Hélder, devotes much of his time to her, divided between his partner, the care of their baby and the body of the selection, to which he also contributes.
“I have my husband, Hélder, who has helped me a lot and stayed with her when I need to concentrate. He is not here, but with her in the hotel. And she is calm and so am I. because I know that it will be brought well. It is a love that knows no explanation and that is why I am very calm to face these games.”admits.
Joana Vasconcelos is unaware of examples similar to hers in Portugal, but she points out, surgically, in international sport, including an Australian canoeist who has stayed with the national team even while pregnant, and together with her within the national team continues to exist. child.
She admits she was lucky enough to have a “super calm” child, who grants her peaceful nights and even “enjoys the environment” that surrounds her while canoeing, reacting when she sees the boats go by.
“The rest of the team likes to play with her. Right now she’s not on the track because we need to be focused, but on stage they communicate, play, dance… so we have another focus besides canoeing”illustrates.
The athlete praises the attitude of the Portuguese Canoe Federation that supported her option – “they want me to be fine too” – and challenges other Portuguese sportswomen to follow her example and urges them not to leave the sport.
“This is the year when I feel the best. I recovered very well after becoming a mother, I didn’t even expect to win the K1 tryouts in Portugal. Right now my focus is mainly on my daughter and she is the one who gives me the greatest motivation to succeed. Good results here. I will do everything I can to improve the K2 and K4 500″promised.
Joana Vasconcelos also added that if you really want something, it’s possible to get it, and you shouldn’t hesitate when you need to ask for help.
“If I didn’t have a man to help me I would have to find someone so I would be more stable. Next year she will be bigger and it won’t cost me much, she won’t. I’m so dependent on me I won’t breastfeed To be calmer, she is there at this stage.”he concluded.
Fernando Pimenta understands Joana Vasconcelos perfectly, since he has been the father of Margarida for two years and six months and Santiago for half a year, children who do not accompany him to international competitions, but with whom he lives, if possible, during internships in Portugal.
“This family support is without a doubt very important in emotional terms. My coach and I defined this, in the final stages of the season, because I had the family closer together because of my two children. At least when I woke up and saw them and before going to sleep to be with them again. It’s different from video calling. It’s more exhausting, but emotionally it pays off”folded.
The best Portuguese canoeist of all time emphasizes that the presence of family does not hinder coach Hélio Lucas’ planning and that there are also rules for his presence on the podium.
“Having the family as close as possible is important and beneficial. In Portugal, we still have a lot to evolve in terms of family support and parenting for athletes. It’s the little details that make a big difference”assures.
Clara, 14 months old, is the daughter of João Ribeiro, who reveals that it is “even easier” to deal with homesickness during competitions, because athletes are always “very focused on competitions and the days fly by”.
During the training sessions led by coach Rui Fernandes, he is grateful to go home almost every weekend, even if he feels that he is missing “some important moments” of his daughter’s growth, so “considering that getting the second child will not be for the time being, can guide you more”.
As for Joana Vasconcelos, she understands that “she managed to settle things well with her husband” and that for what she has done at the same time as motherhood while canoeing, she guarantees that we are in the presence of an “authentic warrior” .
Source: DN
