Championing equality: Pioneering the future of women’s sports as athletes, mothers, and advocates
Joan Benoit Samuelson reflects on her career, motherhood, and the future of women’s sports.
Joan Benoit Samuelson is a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder, National Track and Field Hall of Famer, Boston Marathon champion, and legend in the world of distance running. If all those titles weren’t enough, Benoit Samuelson is also a mom — arguably her most important title. “I refer to my life and my career in two phases, BC and AD,” says Benoit Samuelson. “BC meaning before children and AD meaning after diapers.”
In just the last century, being an athlete and mother was atypical, as societal judgment, lack of support, and prejudicial rules and regulations kept women and mothers on the sidelines. While Benoit Samuelson was an anomaly at the time, she and other pioneering advocates for female athletics laid the groundwork for women to be able to still play the sports they love after having children.
The evolution of access for female athletes
“In my early days as an athlete, acceptance was the big deal,” says
Benoit Samuelson. “Lack of opportunity and accessibility to sport was the first challenge, and then it was gaining acceptance, and most recently it’s trying to gain parity.”
Female athletes have become a part of our cultural identity over the last 50plus years, thanks in large part to Title IX.
This wasn’t always the case, but athletes and advocates have worked tirelessly throughout the decades to improve representation, access, and equity for women’s sports and female athletes.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 3.3 million girls participated in high school athletics from 2022 to 2023, a three percent increase from the year before. At the collegiate and professional level, media coverage for women’s sports has almost tripled over the last five years. These figures are signs of improvement, but women still face obstacles in athletics in terms of scholarship dollars, participation opportunities, and more.
“I think it’s coming, but we still have a long, long way to go,” adds Benoit Samuelson.
Sustaining a professional sports career and raising children: a juggling act
“Before I had children, I scheduled my day around running because running was my focus, but after having children my priorities shifted and I started scheduling my running around my day,” Benoit Samuelson shares. What she is describing is the universal challenge for most mothers; trying to give their best effort in the many different roles they play.
“I think that’s the hardest thing for a woman, trying to strike that balance and be the best mother, partner, role model, coworker, and everything else we need to be,” she says. Benoit Samuelson was able to find that balance and pursued her athletic career while her children grew and discovered what their passions were.
“What’s really great is when your children have a passion that’s different from yours and when they can do something that you can’t do,” says
Benoit Samuelson.
“I had to work harder because it wasn’t given to me… I had to find my opportunity, and I think that made me a better athlete.
Joan Benoit Samuelson