Two mothers, a double, and a village

Joining the New Zealand rowing team in Europe for World Rowing Cup III is nine-and-a-half-month-old Keira. Keira’s mother Brooke Francis says there were 30-odd aunts and uncles on the team flight. Francis is a Tokyo Olympic medallist and one half of the New Zealand women’s double sculls.

The other half of the double is Olympic silver medallist Lucy Spoors. She is the mother of Rupert, born six and a half months ago.

How many times have two national team mothers sat in a boat together, both with babies of almost the same age? Probably never.

And none of this was planned.

Call it a twist of fate or call it serendipity, Francis and Spoors both agree that pregnancy can never be fully planned let alone coordinated with someone else.

“It’s been a bit of a fluke really,” says Francis.

The duo came into the double from different directions. Francis was part of the Olympic silver medal double at Tokyo while Spoors has spent much of her international career in the eight winning silver at Tokyo. Spoors switched from sweep rowing to sculling so that she could train in the single while pregnant.

Now in the same boat Francis and Spoors are using their similarities as an advantage.

“We can draw on each other’s experience as mothers and rowers,” says Francis, “and we’re both more efficient at training because we have to get home to the kids”.

Spoors adds, “We both articulate to our coach what we need for training times and he (James Coote) is understanding and fits training around how our days work”.

Francis and Spoors train with the lightweight women’s double and the reserve who fit around the mothers’ time frames.

“The support from our crew mates helps. Fifteen minutes makes a big difference when you’re trying to get out the door to training,” says Francis.

Both rowers have a role model in their squad in the form of Emma Twigg. The Olympic Champion is a few months ahead of the game with her son, Tommy who is just over a year old.

“Spending time with Emma I was soaking it in and watching while I was pregnant,” says Spoors who, while pregnant, was preparing for the 2022 World Rowing Cup in a double with Twigg.

“My goal was to stay training with the team for as long as I could. It worked out well early on but then I suffered severe nausea and vomiting. I was in full time training until 22 weeks. Then still suffering with the nausea and vomiting it became a bit too tough and I had to listen to my body”.

Spoors got in a few races including the Henley Royal Regatta at 17 weeks. She had to withdraw from World Cup III when partner, Twigg got Covid.

Francis spent her pregnancy on the rowing machine, running, biking on the indoor trainer and doing weights.

“I tried to keep the same modality of what the team was doing, but at a lot less hours than the elite programme. But,” Francis admits, “there’s not a lot of information out there on exercising during pregnancy. I did have the support of Rowing New Zealand’s physiologist and I was able to train right up to giving birth. Exercise also kept me going mentally and I knew it would help get me back in the boat”.

Spoors laughs when she thinks about erging during pregnancy. “You know what stage you’re at because your catch angle gets less and less until you have to let you legs come apart to try and get near to the catch”.

After giving birth Francis says Keira was her main priority to make sure she was happy and healthy. “At about five weeks I was back on the erg and my husband was there to support me”.

Spoors says her post-birth experience was similar. “Early on I just didn’t have the time. You’d start an erg and then they’d wake up and you stop and then start again. I was erging at home and I’d stop when Rupert woke up “.

“When I got back on the erg the rowing mentality took over,” says Francis. “I’m not used to stopping but I would have to stop when Keira needed me”.

Both rowers see the positive of being a mum and rowing. “I get home,” says Francis, “and Keira doesn’t care if I’ve had a good row or a bad row. She’s just happy to see me “.

“Similar,” says Spoors. “Being a mum teaches you that you can’t be hard on yourself”.

“I think I’m a better mum as I’ve been able to combine my passions. I’d hate to have had to choose between rowing and being a mum,” says Francis.

“I love rowing and I’ve got more to give,” says Spoors, “so if I can juggle both then for me I’ve got the best case scenario”.

It may sound like a cliché but Francis says it really is taking a village to raise Keira. “I’ve got the team, the support staff and more. I don’t take it for granted”.

“Same, says Spoors. “We’re not doing it alone”.