奧運賽場上的媽媽級選手

Trying to be a mother and a champion Olympian simultaneously is a tough task, but the Beijing Games has its fair share of mums juggling their duties.

Some of the better-known include British marathon runner Paula Radcliffe, American tennis star Lindsay Davenport, and Japan's seven-time world judo champion Ryoko Tani.

But there are plenty more changing nappies one minute and training the next.

Italian fencer Valentina Vezzali hasn't let having a child get in her way of being the best in the world, making Olympics history here by becoming the first person to win three successive individual titles with victory in the foil.

She did it for her son.

"My son asked me for a medal, but he didn't ask for a particular one," she said. "Here it is."

Judoka Xian Dongmei put family matters on hold to achieve her Olympic dream, and now she is China's first gold-medal mum, she can't wait to return home.

"I miss my child so much," said Xian who defended her women's -52kg title.

"After the Olympics I will go back home quickly and make up for the love I have missed."

Xian gave birth to daughter Liu Jiahui in January last year, had been criticised in local media as "cold-hearted" for giving up feeding her baby after seven months to focus on her Olympic build up.

They are not the first supermums to win a medal after going through labour.

Ethiopia's Derartu Tulu, the 10,000-metre Olympic gold medalist in 1992, won the title again in 2000 two years after giving birth to a daughter.

And Australia's Jana Rawlinson, missing from Beijing due to injury, famously regained her 400-metre hurdles world title last year just eights months after having a baby.

Davenport, 32, is another. She is one of a handful of mothers still playing on the WTA Tour, returning last year after giving birth to Jagger with the specific goal of playing the Olympics.

Sadly for her, injury has forced cut short her singles dream, but the doubles remain on her radar.

又當媽媽又當奧運冠軍並不是件容易的事，但在北京奧運會上，有這樣一些媽媽級運動員們兩件事都沒有耽誤。

英國馬拉松運動員寶拉•拉德克里夫、美國網球明星林賽•達文波特以及七屆世界柔道冠軍、日本的谷亮子等都是她們當中比較有名的人物。

但是像他們一樣前一分鐘還在忙着換尿布，下一刻就得去訓練的運動員還有很多。

意大利擊劍選手瓦倫蒂娜•韋扎利並沒有因爲孩子的出世而停下邁向世界冠軍的腳步，她成爲奧運歷史上首位連續三次奪得該項比賽個人冠軍的運動員。

她這樣做都是爲了她的兒子。

她說：“我兒子問我要一枚獎牌，不過他並沒有說具體要哪一塊。就這塊好了。”

柔道運動員洗東妹爲了她的奧運夢想把家庭放在了一邊，如今，她成了中國第一個冠軍媽媽，她已經迫不急待要回家了。

成功衛冕柔道52公斤級冠軍的洗東妹說：“我太想念我的孩子了！”

“奧運會之後我要馬上回家，好好補償她。”

冼東妹在2007年1月生下女兒劉佳慧，七個月後她便給女兒斷奶以集中備戰奧運。爲此，當地媒體曾批評她太“冷血”。

不過，她們可並不是第一代產後拿獎牌的超級媽媽。

1992年奧運會女子10000米金牌得主埃塞俄比亞運動員德拉爾圖•圖盧在2000年再次獲得該項目冠軍時，她的女兒只有2歲。

因傷未能參加北京奧運會的澳大利亞運動員加娜•羅林森在去年重獲400米欄世界冠軍時剛剛生完孩子八個月。

還有32歲的達文波特。她是爲數不多至今還活躍在女子網球聯合會巡迴賽賽場上的媽媽選手之一，她在去年生下兒子賈格爾，之後專門爲參加奧運會而復出。

不幸的是，她的單打冠軍之夢因傷而破滅了，但是，她仍然會竭力備戰雙打比賽。