Keeping sport in the family: how active mums empower strong daughters
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When Danielle Roman and her two young daughters crossed the finish line at a gruelling obstacle course race on Mother’s Day, the trio was exhausted but elated.
Serena, six, and Angelie, four, demonstrated immense physical and mental strength to complete the tough Spartan challenge in Taiwan, and their 39-year-old mother couldn’t be more proud.
From an early age Roman taught her girls that “strength is not just in your muscles, it is in your mind”. She built on her own experience after she started weight training at the gym a few years after her son and two daughters were born, to feel strong again.
“My body felt weak and my mind fatigued after having three kids and sitting long hours at a stressful office-based job. Around that time, Serena, who was five then, said to me, ‘Mummy, boys are stronger than girls, I could never be that strong’.
“I realised that if Serena could feel strong physically, she could be empowered to feel strong mentally – just like me,” says Roman, who is a partner at international law firm Mourant in Hong Kong.
From that day on, the pair started running 5km together on Saturday mornings. Soon, younger daughter Angelie started to join her mum on the running track on Sunday mornings.