Before the podium, there’s Luka

Before training sessions. Before recovery. Before competition.

There is a little boy with a big smile waiting at the start of every morning.

For the Olympic silver medallist, motherhood has reshaped more than routine. It has changed her relationship with performance, pressure and what strength now looks like.

For years, life revolved around training blocks, international travel and the relentless pursuit of marginal gains that helped carry her to an Olympic silver medal on the world stage.

Now, her days revolve around naps, cuddles and finding balance in a completely different season of life.

And she would not change it for anything.

For many elite athletes, returning after time away comes with expectation.

Returning after motherhood feels different.

“Slow, and that’s okay,” Artacho del Solar says of her return to training.

“I always assumed I’d bounce back quickly as an athlete. My body knows how to move. But becoming a mum changes everything, including how you listen to yourself.”

There has been no rush.

No pressure to immediately become the athlete people remember from the podium.

Instead, this chapter has been about reconnecting slowly and giving herself permission to move differently.

“My first sessions back weren’t about performance,” she says.

“They were just about reconnecting, moving my body and feeling the sand under my feet again.”

athlete Mariafe and baby

Away from competition, it is the quieter moments that matter most.

“The mornings are magical,” she says.

“Before the day starts and everything gets busy, it’s all about my family. Waking up next to Luka and seeing that big smile on his face when he gets up, it’s indescribable.”

She talks to him in Spanish, sings to him and treasures the moments far removed from stadiums, cameras and crowds.

“The moments nobody sees are the ones I’ll hold onto forever.”
athlete family

Like many working mothers, balancing motherhood and career has brought a completely different rhythm to life.

Training no longer happens around competition schedules alone.

Now, it happens around Luka.

“At the moment he’s my biggest priority, so if I can get to training that’s a bonus,” she says.

Support, she admits, has made all the difference.

Artacho del Solar credits partner Jack, along with her wider performance support team, for helping her navigate this transition.

“Having a partner who genuinely steps up, not just in words but in the day-to-day, makes everything possible,” she says.

“And my coaching staff, S&C and physios have been super patient. No pressure, no timeline. That trust means everything.”

Behind every athlete is a support system.

Sometimes, the strongest performances begin with being supported beyond sport.

Athlete Mariafe and baby Luka

This Mother’s Day, there is no focus on medals or milestones.

For Artacho del Solar, success looks different now.

Not measured in podium finishes, but in presence.

“I hope Luka remembers that I was his constant safe space, always providing unconditional love and support.”

Because long before the world sees the athlete, there is a mother shaping the person behind her.