Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez recently stunned the world when she competed at the Paris Olympics 2024 while seven pregnant with her daughter, Zaina, reported BBC.
A clinical pathologist by profession, Nada Hafez was given the all-clear by doctors to compete at the Olympics Games and wanted to show the world what a woman’s body can do.
According to the report, only a select few knew she was competing while seven months pregnant until she revealed the news on social media following her last-16 exit from her event.
The announcement went viral, which Hafez had experienced before.
“I was just posting on my personal account – proud, saying I’m in the top 16 in the world while pregnant,” Hafez told BBC Sport Africa, adding, “I didn’t expect this would go viral. I didn’t know what was going on.”
She added that the majority of responses to her message were positive.
“When the post went up, and I was an inspiration for everyone, this was a big thing for me.”
Hafez mentioned she wanted to show the world what a woman’s body can do.
“This was a really important message for me – an Egyptian Arab woman – to tell all women that your body can surprise you. Sometimes you need to see an example in front of you to know that you can do it,” she said.
“Because maybe a pregnant woman, she’s afraid to do anything, and now she tells herself: ‘There’s a woman who competes at the Olympics while pregnant. So I can do whatever’.”
Hafez on negative reactions:
Though not everyone was so supportive of Hafez revealing she fenced in the women’s individual sabre at the Grand Palais while carrying a baby.
Reacting to negative comments on Instagram, she said, “Some people don’t want to see you succeed,” she reflected. It’s easy to put a comment and run. You don’t face me.”
“I wanted to clarify that I’m a doctor and this (competing while pregnant) is something that is not against any medical issues. Some people were saying I should have given the place to someone else. But this was not an option because I qualified, she added.
“My mum told me ‘Don’t be sad if you read anything’ – but I’m proud of what I did. I achieved something and it was very challenging.”
She concluded, “For me, fencing is not as it looks – it has this sense of touch. My doctor assured me that it’s not unsafe.”
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