Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez made headlines at the Paris 2024 Olympics by revealing that she competed while seven months pregnant.
Hafez, 26, participated in her third Olympic Games and shared her experience on Instagram after her match on July 29. She won her opening bout against American fencer Elizabeth Tartakovsky with a score of 15-13 but was eliminated in the Round of 16 by South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung, losing 15-7.
In her Instagram post, Hafez expressed pride in her journey, stating, “What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, & my yet-to-come to our world, little baby!”.
She acknowledged the physical and emotional challenges of balancing pregnancy with competitive sports, saying, “The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it.”
Hafez also credited her husband, Ibrahim Ihab, and her family for their support throughout this journey.
She described this Olympic experience as unique, emphasizing that this time she was “carrying a little Olympian.”
With inputs from agencies
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