Competing in the Olympics is a feat of elite athleticism and dedication in and of itself, right?
Now imagine doing it seven months’ pregnant. Because that’s what Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez just did in Paris.
“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 wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life and 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!”
The 26-year-old Hafez beat world No. 10-ranked Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the U.S. 15-13 before losing 15-7 to Jeon Hayoung of South Korea on Monday in the round of 16 at the Grand Palais.
How about that for a pregnancy announcement ✨ <br><br>Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez announced in a heartfelt Instagram post that she is seven months pregnant. She’d competed at the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Olympics</a> just the day before! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paris2024?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Paris2024</a> I <a href=”https://twitter.com/FIE_fencing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@FIE_fencing</a> <a href=”https://t.co/m22rvPWXRX”>pic.twitter.com/m22rvPWXRX</a>
—@Olympics
Hafez, who previously competed at the Games in 2016 and 2021, said she revealed the news to “shed light on the strength, perseverance of the Egyptian woman.”
“How about that for a pregnancy announcement,” wrote the official Olympics Games account on X, formerly Twitter.
“CHAMP, from a seven month pregnant woman as well who knows how difficult this stage of pregnancy [is] emotionally and physically, you are awesome and your baby is lucky to have a super inspiring mama,” wrote fan Nouraa Saiid on Hafez’s Instagram post.
Paige Crozon is working toward earning Canada a spot in women’s 3×3 basketball at the Paris Olympics, and the single mother says her daughter has been a big part of the journey.
The motherhood penalty
However, there were also some negative comments, with some on Instagram asking why Egypt would send a pregnant athlete to the Olympics and questioning if it affected her performance.
Hafez didn’t say why she didn’t reveal her pregnancy publicly until after she competed, but studies have shown that motherhood discrimination in sport is real.
For instance, in 2022, a University of Alberta study found that pregnant elite athletes are often made to feel they can’t be both athletes and mothers and that they have to choose one or the other.
The study suggested elite athletes who become mothers need better support from sporting bodies to continue their careers after giving birth. Prof. Margie Davenport with the faculty of kinesiology, sport and recreation explained that, for female athletes, the window of peak performance and the window for fertility overlap.
“Male athletes don’t run into the same issues. The level of stress is unimaginable,” said Davenport in a news release at the time.
Watch boxer Mandy Bujold of Kitchener, Ont., read her statement after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Olympic qualification criteria must include an accommodation for women who were pregnant or postpartum during the qualification period, paving the way for Bujold to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
Other recent research published in the journal Communication & Sport analyzed the experiences of two Canadian elite athletes — boxer Mandy Bujold and basketball player Kim Gaucher — and found they were discriminated against by Olympic organizers because they were recent moms.
Gaucher, who was breastfeeding, fought against COVID-19 restrictions that wouldn’t have allowed her to bring her baby to the Tokyo Games. When Olympic qualification was revised due to the pandemic, Bujold would have missed out because she didn’t compete in the new time frame while she was pregnant. She fought the ruling and won, placing 17th in Tokyo, which she later said was disappointing.
“It just seemed like there was barrier after barrier, obstacle after obstacle, that got in my way to really be able to truly show what I was capable of on that stage,” Bujold told CBC Sports.
The researchers called Bujold and Gaucher’s experiences a “motherhood penalty.”
Moms in the spotlight
The Paris Olympics touts itself as the first to achieve full gender parity, with an equal number of female and male competitors. A nursery is available for athletes’ children in the Olympic Village for the first time and private rooms are provided by organizers for nursing mothers.
“The IOC and IOC Athletes’ Commission want to ensure that pregnancy and motherhood do not mean a career end in particular for female athletes,” the IOC said. “The nursery forms part of an ongoing commitment from the IOC and IOC AC to ensure parent athletes are cared for and supported at the Games.
American Allyson Felix, an 11-time Olympic medallist who often celebrated victories with her children, previously told CBS that the nursery represents a “shift in culture” and a move in “the right direction.”
With her reveal, Hafez joins the ranks of female athletes like Paige Crozon, Clarisse Agbegnenou and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who are showing their strength and stamina at the Paris Olympics while also keeping small humans alive.
Agbegnenou, for instance, won a bronze medal for France in Judo on Tuesday and then hoisted her daughter in victory.
And Fraser-Pryce, a legendary Jamaican sprinter also known as “the Mommy Rocket,” is aiming to bring home more medals this year.
“Balancing the whirlwind of my busy schedule with the joys of motherhood is both exhilarating and challenging. Amidst the chaos, my son is the anchor, the constant reminder of what truly matters,” Fraser-Pryce wrote on Instagram in May.
Then there’s British rower Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, who raised more than $4,000 Cdn through GoFundMe to go to Paris “as a full-time mom” to baby Freddie. She’ll compete in the final on Thursday.
We also can’t forget new social media fan favourite Kim Yeji, the South Korean sharp shooter who just won a silver medal — with what was reportedly her daughter’s stuffed elephant clipped to her side.
Omg her daughter’s elephant doll was with her during the olympics🥹 Kim Yeji is MOTHERING. <a href=”https://t.co/kiZlb7Beia”>pic.twitter.com/kiZlb7Beia</a>
—@hahyunsing
Canadian 3×3 basketball player Paige Crozon makes her Olympics debut this year. In May, she told CBC Sports that her daughter, Poppy, was “absolutely” coming with her to Paris.
On Tuesday, Crozon posted on Instagram that Poppy had indeed joined her.
“She’s here! Let the games begin.”