Olympic fencer says she competed 7 months pregnant
The seventh month of pregnancy is usually accompanied by hip and lower back pain, increased fatigue and shortness of breath. Do not participate and win at the Summer Olympics.
But Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez is anything but typical. Hafez, 26, revealed Monday that she competed in the women’s sabre competition — and advanced to the round of 16 — while seven months pregnant.
“What seems like two players on stage to you, was actually three! It was me, my competitor, and my yet-to-come-into-our-world, little baby!” Hafez wrote on Instagram.
“The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough in itself, but the fight to maintain the balance between life and sport was downright exhausting, but worth it,” she wrote. “I’m writing this post to say how proud I am to have secured my place in the round of 16!”
Hafez defeated American world number 10 Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the round of 32 before losing to Jeon Hayoung of South Korea. She previously competed for Egypt in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics in sabre. Hafez entered the Olympics ranked 29th in the world in sabre and Egypt’s top competitor, according to the International Fencing Federation.
She wrote that she is leaving Paris with a different sense of pride than her two previous trips to the Games.
“This particular Olympics was different; three *Olympic* days, but this time with a little one for Olympian!” Hafez wrote, ending her announcement with a fitting heart emoji.
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(Photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
