Paris. Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed on social media that she competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics while seven months pregnant.
Hafez reached the last 16, beating a higher-ranked opponent along the way. Currently world number 26, the Egyptian, who was playing in her third Games in Paris, defeated American Elizabeth Tartakovsky before falling to South Korea’s Hayoung Jeon in the last 16 on Monday.
“Three times ‘Olympian’, but this time wearing a little ‘Olympian’!” the 26-year-old announced on Instagram.
“What seemed like two contestants… were actually three! There was my rival, me and my future baby,” she wrote in English.
Hafez competed in the 2016 Rio Games and three years ago in Tokyo in the sabre category, a weapon that requires a lot of speed and reflexes from its athletes.
Hafez said she was proud to have reached the round of 16.
“The rollercoaster ride of pregnancy is hard enough, but having to find a balance between life and sport has been exhausting but worth it,” she wrote.
Her Instagram post received over 25,000 likes, with many Internet users praising the athlete.
“Finding the balance between being pregnant and following your passion is never easy, you should be so proud of yourself,” one user said.
“It’s incredible, but isn’t it cheating to fight two against one?” joked another.
She has also had to deal with sexist comments, which have criticised her for competing while pregnant, insinuating that this has affected her performance and her country.
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– 2024-08-03 16:18:53
