Egyptian fencer reveals she competed at Paris Olympics while being 7 months pregnant after R16 exit

Modified Jul 30, 2024 17:13 GMT

The 2024 African Championships bronze medalist Nada Hafez recently opened up about competing while being pregnant at the Paris Olympics. This came just three days after her loss in the round of 16 of the women's saber fencing event at the Paris Olympic Games 2024.

Following her loss in the round of 16 of the Paris event, the Egyptian fencer penned a heartfelt note on her Instagram handle. In her note, she revealed that she competed in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games while being seven months pregnant.

Beside,s she also elaborated on the wonderful experience she has had in carrying a "little Olympian" and how proud she is for reaching the second round in Paris.

"What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, & my yet-to-come little baby! 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 "

She further wrote:

"This specific Olympics was different; Three times *Olympian* but this time carrying a little Olympian one."

In her Instagram post, Nada Hafez also thanked her husband and family in Cairo for showing support to her through thick and thin and for having the belief in her.

Nada Hafez faces defeat in the second round of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Nada Hafez at the 2023 African Championships (Hafez Instagram)

Following a superb performance at the 2024 African Championships in which she clinched a gold medal in a team event, 26-year-old Nada Hafez faces defeat in the second stage of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Hafez started off her Paris expedition against seven-seed fencer Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the round of 32 stage. She defeated Tartakovsky by a close margin of 15-13.

However, she failed to register a similar performance in the round of 16 and lost by a margin of 7-15 to South Korea's Jeon-Ha-Young. This defeat also ended her journey in the 2024 Paris Olympic games, which was the third quadrennial event of her career.

This was Hafez's best result in an Olympic event so far in her career as in both 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo, the Cairo native faced defeat in the Round of 32 stage.