The Toughest Athletes: Nike's new film on motherhood celebrates female strength

Created with Wieden+Kennedy London, the spot takes a closer look at the correlation of sport and motherhood through the lens of more than 20 mothers across various stages of their pregnancy and postpartum journeys and is underscored by the likes of Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, Perri Edwards, Bianca Williams, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Nia Ali – along with everyday female athletes.

Filmed during the pandemic, the short film was compiled from more than 22 hours of intimate footage shot by the mothers featured and their friends and families. "Each respective shoot was directed via Zoom to keep each individuals health and safety a priority," says Wieden+Kennedy London.

Those featured come from the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, France, Australia, Jamaica and more. "Moms from across the world helped illustrate how motherhood is an ultramarathon," the advertising firm adds.

The film coincides with Nike's first dedicated maternity collection, Nike (M), available in North America, Europe and Africa at nike.com. The collection will release in select Asia Pacific and Latin American markets beginning in late 2021. In addition, Nike has partnered with pre-and post-natal exercise expert Jane Wake to create four audio-guided workouts specifically for motherhood in the Nike Run Club app.