Olympic Fencer Nada Hafez Competes While 7 Months Pregnant

There are always plenty of surprises and heartfelt moments at every Olympics. This year is no expectation from the USA Men’s Gymnastics team medaling for the first time since 2008 to Katie Ledecky’s 1500M freestyle dominance, but one Olympic fencer may have taken the cake when it comes to this year’s surprise special guest.

After securing her place in the 16th round of fencing at the Olympics, Egyptian competitor Nada Hafez had one big reveal on social media. “7 MONTHS PREGNANT OLYMPIAN!” she wrote in a post to her Instagram. “What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, and my yet-to-come to our world, little baby.”

Hafez went on to talk about how she and her soon-to-be little one had fought through their fair share of “physical and emotional challenges” along the way to the Olympics. “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!”

While Hafez went on to lose to Korea’s Jeon Hayoung and ultimately missed the top three podium, the soon-to-be mom is more than proud to have completed her third appearance at the Olympics. “I’m lucky to have shared the trust of my husband @ibrahimihab11 and that of my family to be able to come this far,” she wrote. “This specific Olympics was different; Three times Olympian but this time carrying a little Olympian one!”

Congratulations to Hafez!