Marathoner mom clears the air after sparking controversy over ignoring her kids at the finish line

Recently, a mom running a marathon caught everyone's attention on the internet. Many people supported her and criticized her husband for allowing his kids to run to her when she was about to reach the finish line. The mom, Luciana Grandi Lourenção, from Brazil, addressed the controversy in a video on May 26, Sunday on Instagram. She defended her partner and explained why she did not stop to greet her daughters, who were waiting near the finish line. Lourenção called her husband, Pedro, "an excellent husband" and "incredible father." However, the video again sparked a debate among people about women's identity beyond motherhood, reports PEOPLE.

In the video, she spoke in Portuguese and called herself a personal trainer, an amateur athlete, a street runner, a mother to her two daughters and a wife to her husband, Pedro. She then said that she and her husband had decided beforehand that the girls would join her as she crossed the finish line. Back then, they were not sure that Lourenção would win the race. However, the situation changed when she was only seconds ahead of another runner. She defended her husband by saying he would not have known that she was so close to her competitor.

The mom then talked about the determination and exhaustion she faced and how it led her to win but also stopped her from greeting her children. Lourenção shared that she was running the race with her brother, Teo Grandi, whom she hugged at the end. However, she also said she celebrated her victory with her daughters and husband and even took her children to the winner's podium. Though they could not have a family moment at the finish line, the woman believed there would be another day for that. "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 said in the video. She also spoke about her husband and called him "an excellent husband" and "an incredible father."

"This race, which did us a lot of good, did not end at the finish line," she captioned the post. People in the comments reiterated that the man should have been more careful with the children. @1100sabre commented, "The only thing I see wrong is the dad putting the children and runners in harm. Why would he move them in front of her and others? They should have been on the other side of the finish line." @nhaleme wrote, "Why did he push them in front of her right before she reached the finish line?? Did he not want her to finish? He should have been after for her after the finish line."

@starrla41 expressed, "My God, people. She was running for her! When you run, it is like self-hypnosis. This doesn't define her being a mother or wife. She was running a race, not in some Hollywood movie that shows some picture-perfect ending. Let her have her moment just for her. It was nice her family was there for her, but it was for her!" The incident the mom spoke about was from the Presidente Half Marathon in Brazil. Lourenção's kids were standing with their father and as they saw their mother, they started running to the track. The man stood there and watched his kids run to their mom. However, the woman did not let that affect her performance and avoided them by a big leap and won the race.