As the pinnacle event for most sports, the 2024 Paris Olympics are filled with superb athletes each with their own fascinating stories and emotions.
Even for Singapore, we had that controversy with Quah Ting Wen earlier this month.
Out of the less popular sport of Women’s Fencing came a particular surprise, even by Olympic standards.
Fencer Nada Hafez 7 Months Pregnant During Olympics
26-year-old Nada Hafez from Egypt is a sabre fencer who participated in her third Olympics in Paris.
The young fencer previously participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which took place in 2021). Though she qualified for both, she lost her first match in the Round of 32 both times.
This time, however, Hafez won her first Olympics victory, upsetting world number ten ranked Elizabeth Tartakovsky in a 15-13 match.
The win put her in the Olympics Round of 16, where she lost to South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung.
Nonetheless, Hafez expressed pride at her performance and Round of 16 entry in an Instagram post, but that achievement was vastly overshadowed by another shocking revelation.
The Egyptian fencer revealed that she was carrying a baby, seven months pregnant in fact.
She briefly talked about the physical and emotional challenges, having to deal with the difficult “rollercoaster of pregnancy” while trying to do well in her sport.
She described the fight to keep the balance between her life and her sport as “nothing short of strenuous”.
To perform at the Olympics level in fencing while seven months pregnant, and even defeating the number ten sabre fencer in the world, is nothing short of astonishing for Hafez.
On the other hand, Tartakovsky can excuse her loss to being outnumbered two versus one on the podium.
Technically, this also means Hafez’s foetus is the youngest Olympian of all time. They’ll have a steep hill to climb to get the gold medal by the time they’re eight.
Hafez Receives Congratulations & Concerns
While many showered her with congratulations for both motherhood and her excellent performance, others expressed concern about her and her baby’s safety in a sport like fencing.
Surprisingly, the British Fencing Medical Committee actually has an article written about such a situation.
Their general guideline is to not do strenuous exercise while pregnant noting that it increases risks of injury.
However, the concerns were generally on the minor side, with the committee pointing out overheating, back pain, and weakened pelvic floor muscles as examples.
The risk of blade contact is also low in fencing due to multiple layers of reinforced gear.
Ironically for a sport where two people stab at each other with swords, fencing is probably one of the safer events for a pregnant woman to compete in.
Hafez also said she had the trust of her husband and family to compete, and so is likely to have consulted them and hopefully a doctor as well.
While this situation seems like a monumental first, Hafez is actually joining the ranks of a whole 25 previous Olympians who competed while pregnant.
She shares the furthest-into-term spot with German athlete Cornelia Pfohl at seven months pregnant.
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