Author(s): HELLBORG, A.M., Institution: MALMO UNIVERSITY, Country: SWEDEN, Abstract-ID: 181

Being an elite athlete requires full commitment. Becoming and being a parent also requires commitment, so combing elite sports and parenthood can be difficult (Palmer & Leberman, 2009). Writings about the athletes, especially male athletes, as parents in the press are not new. However, the past 20 years it is an increased visibility in the press of women also having children in the middle of their sporting career (Dashper, 2018). So, what is the press writing when they write about elite athletes being parents? The aim of this research is to discuss and analyse the portrayal of parenthood among elite athletes in the sport pages.
The sport pages of the biggest morning paper in Sweden; Dagens Nyheter (Daily News) have been analysed. Material from the years 2019 and 2020 have been collected. Any article or notification that mentions elite athletes’ children has been included. A discourse analysis has been used to highlight the writing and discuss the discourses that exist surrounding elite athletes and parenthood. The aim is that a discourse analysis will help to understand norms and culture in sport by focusing on the sport pages.
The results are that “pregnant” is a word that is frequently used and easy to understand and clearly indicate that something is changing for the athlete. Having a child also creates a “becoming”, the construction of the parent is taking place, and this also causes change in the athlete’s life, and career (?).The word “birth” is frequently used. This is a more detailed word, closer to the actual childbirth, and connects the women to (her) nature. This can also be said about the epithet “soccermother”, where we may have a different understanding of a “soccermum”, than a mother that is an elite athlete, since it is often used to describe mothers to sporting children.
Using the word “pregnant” is an easy way to inform, for example we understand that the woman will be unable to do sport during some part of this process. “Pregnant” is a common word to use to describe this situation. However, to use the word “birth”, “giving birth” and other phrases with the word “birth” is not as necessary to describe a woman’s situation, it is closer and more personal. An interpretation is that this is a way to connect women to nature and it positions women as biological creatures that are controlled by nature in contrast to controlling the body for elite sports. It is like women have another biological level that triumphs their sporting ambitions. Women have often been viewed as more defined by nature then men have (de Beauvoir, 1949/2020), and this can be seen here as well.

References
de Beauvoir (1949/2010) The second sex. Vintage Books
Dashper (2018) Smiling assassins, brides-to-be and super mums: the importance of gender and celebrity in media framing of female athletes..., Sport in Society, 21:11, 1739-1757
Palmer & Leberman (2009) Elite athletes as mothers: Managing multiple identities, Sport Management Review, 12:4, 241-254