Raising an Olympian: The Mother’s Behind Elite Athletes

6th OF August 2012

While watching the Olympics, we’ve been caught sitting on the edge of our seats, screaming at the TV, and even close to tears at some points. In these moments we can’t help but wonder how we would react were a friend, a sibling, or a son or daughter on the screen and several times have said aloud, ‘imagine if you were his/her mum’.
Official Olympic sponsor Procter & Gamble know that behind every great athlete is a support network who have seen them through the ridiculously early mornings, the crazy hours of training and every win or loss of their career and they’ve create a documentary style video featuring veteran Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan and his mum Pam which gives us a glimpse into the unique challenge of raising an Olympian.

Far from expecting him to become an elite athlete, Pam enrolled her son in swimming classes in a bid to help his lungs develop since he was plagued with asthma. The initially hesitant Eamon went on to become one of Australia's best swimmers and despite having been through his fair share of setbacks - including serious injuries, set backs, trials and tribulations - he has made it to the Olympics three times and credits the values his mum instilled in him as a kid as being what helped him keep going through the tough times.
This moving mini-documentary shows that even the most extraordinary journey is a credit to a mother's love and dedication to their child.
Watch the video here and make sure you've got the tissues handy!