WANTS OLYMPIC GOLD
She took up boxing at 27 to get back in shape after pregnancy. A decade on, Finland’s Mira Potkonen is the European champion with an Olympic bronze medal and her eyes set on gold at Tokyo 2020.
Now 37, Potkonen is one of the few female boxers, alongside the likes of India’s Mary Kom, to strike a successful balance between motherhood and a top sporting career.
But Potkonen, who bowed out of the women’s world championships in the lightweight 60kg category in New Delhi told AFP that juggling boxing and family life had thrown up few obstacles.
“It hasn’t been a big challenge for me. It actually balances my life,” Potkonen said on the sidelines of her training.
“We have a good support system and people who can take care of my children when I am away.
“My focus all the time has been on getting better and better. My goal is to be in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and win a gold there,” she said with a smile. In contrast to their male counterparts, only a small band of female boxers who compete at the highest level are parents.
India’s Kom, a 35-year-old mother of three sons, is assured of winning her seventh world championships medal at the Delhi event.
Carolina “Crespita” Rodriguez, a world bantamweight champion from Chile, made headlines two years ago training whilst eight months pregnant with her daughter.
India’s Kom, a 35-year-old mother of three sons, is assured of winning her seventh world championships medal at the Delhi event