One Olympic athlete has been competing with a severe athletic disadvantage during the 2024 Paris Olympics, but one that will bring her great joy in the coming months.
On Monday, Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez took to social media to reveal that at the time of her events last week, she was actually seven months pregnant.
“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,” wrote Hafez on Instagram. “My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional. 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. I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16!”
During her run in the Olympics, Hafez was able to beat Team USA’s Elizabeth Tartakovsky to reach the Women’s Individual Sabre Table of 16 before ultimately falling to South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung.
This is the third time that Hafez has qualified for the Olympics. And unbelievably, her 16th place finish was actually the best finish of her career in the past three Olympics she has competed in.
Not only will this be an incredible story for Hafez to one day tell her child. But it also shows that there are simply no limits to what an Olympic-level athlete can do.
