Did ''Marathon Mom' ignore her kids? Why a viral video is enraging runners and mothers
Personal trainer Luciana Grandi Lourenção was about to win the Presidente Prudente Half Marathon in Brazil.
But before she crossed the 21-kilometre race's finish line, she had to dodge a couple of hazards in the road: her children.
In a May 5 video that has gone viral since it was shared on TikTok, Lourenção can be seen running down a hill, triumphantly pumping a fist in the air as she's about to cross the finish line with the time of 1:41:01, which would net her the first-place finish among the female runners.
And then, a man, later confirmed to be her husband, pushes Lourenção's young daughters onto the course. They run toward their mother, but Lourenção veers to the right and darts across the finish line without looking back. Behind her, the man shrugs.
The video made headlines around the world — some blaming the dad for "sabotaging" his wife's moment, some saying Lourenção ignored her kids — and ignited social media, where the original video has more than 16 million views and counting.
The comments are just as heated, with lots of people saying the video really represents how men don't take women's commitments outside the family seriously. Lourenção later clarified she and her husband had initially planned for her kids to cross the finish line with her, but she changed her mind when she realized she could win if she kept up her pace.
The video, for many, is symbolic of the kind of barriers mothers face.
"She has the choice to either pick them up and not win the marathon, or run around them and win," one woman posted in a video response.
"Mother runner ignored kids OR dad sabotages marathon mom by using kids?" wrote a running coach on Instagram.
Sport double standard
The video is disappointing, said Dawn Trussell, an associate professor of sport management at Brock University who studies motherhood and sports. In her view, it represents a bigger problem than what appears to be a dad's "problematic" timing.
"Mothers who are athletes often have to counter the unrealistic and self-sacrificing expectations of motherhood," Trussell told CBC News.
"Motherhood expectations can include dedicating all of one's time, energy and resources to be considered a 'good mother' while sacrificing their athletic identities."