Luciana Grandi Lourenção addressed the controversial moment that sparked an online discussion about mothers’ priorities and passions
Marathon runner Luciana Grandi Lourenção made headlines with her dramatic sprint across the finish line, which saw her passing right by her husband and daughters waiting by the end of the race.
Now-viral footage of her final downhill dash reached over 16.6 million viewers on TikTok, many of whom commented on the way she seemed to ignore her cheering family members. After Lourenção charged past her daughters — who attempted to greet their mom with high fives — her husband could be seen throwing up his arms in a frustrated manner.
On Sunday, the race winner took to Instagram to address the controversial video that sparked an online conversation about women pursuing interests beyond motherhood.
She addressed her followers in Portuguese, beginning by identifying herself as a personal trainer, an amateur athlete and a street runner, as well as a mother of two girls and a wife to her husband, Pedro.
The marathoner explained that she and Pedro decided their daughters would join their mom as she crossed the finish line. They didn’t know whether or not Lourenção would end up in first place, and she says the stakes were heightened by the fact that she was only seconds ahead of another runner.
“There was no way he could have known that the second competitor was very close to me,” Lourenção noted in her Instagram tell-all, as translated into English.
She continued to describe the mix of exhaustion and determination that drove her through the final stretch and kept her from pausing to greet her waiting kids.
As she clarified in her video, Lourenção ran the race alongside her brother, Téo Grandi, whom she hugged after crossing the finish line. She also celebrated with her daughters and husband, and even took the girls with her to the winner’s podium, but the family moment didn’t happen at the finish line.
“I would like to have made a nicer arrival with them there, but I know that I will have other opportunities to do this,” she added in Portuguese during her four minute Instagram video.
She went on to praise Pedro, whom she called “an excellent husband” and “an incredible father.”
“This race, which did us a lot of good, did not end at the finish line,” Lourenção concluded in her caption.
Many Instagram users expressed their appreciation for the video message and congratulated Lourenção on her successful race. Still, some commenters reiterated their initial reactions in the context of female empowerment outside of a domestic space.
“In motherhood, we go a long way and often give the best we have to our children. People often don’t understand that we have to have our moment. This was your moment,” one social media user wrote in Portuguese, adding, “You made the right choice. Your family loves you, they were there to support you. They waited until the end, happy and eager to see you arrive.”
The sentiment echoes the earlier discussions about the original video of Lourenção’s final sprint, before she broke her silence on Instagram. Fellow moms applauded the accomplished athlete for prioritizing her win.
“She showed her daughters in that moment, how to be strong, independent, and amazing,” read one comment on the TikTok posted in early May.
Another person replied, “And this is what women mean when they say they’re a human being NOT JUST A MOM!!! Her time to shine! Good job!”
