‘Emotional’ Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez admits to competing in Paris Olympics while being seven months pregnant

Nada Hafez lost to Jeon Ha-Young in the Women's Individual Sabre Round of 32.

‘Emotional’ Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez admits to competing in Paris Olympics while being seven months pregnant

Nada Hafez (via @nada_hafez/Instagram)

All Olympic athletes have to go through various struggles in their lives to make it to the elite level of their sport. However, Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez recently proved her determination at the highest stage at the recent Paris Olympics.

Hafez revealed with a post on Instagram that rather than two players fighting it out on the podium, there were actually three, the third being her yet-to-be-born child. She had faced a ton of physical and mental challenges even before the event. Going through the entire event while being seven months pregnant elevated things to a whole new level.

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The 26-year-old emphasized how going through pregnancy in itself was tough enough on its own. However, balancing her sport with life was extremely strenuous. All in all, she believed that her journey was worth it.

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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!
Nada Hafez on Instagram

Rather than sitting the event out, she donned her sabre, wire mask, and jacket to represent her country at the Olympic Games, battling some of the best fencers in the world at the Grand Palais. Hafez was filled with pride after making it so far in the tournament. She had made it to the round of 16 in women’s individual Sabre before being eliminated.

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Nada Hafez gets eliminated in the Women’s Individual Sabre Round of 16 by Jeon Ha-Young

Hafez started her Paris Olympics stint by taking on American Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the round of 32 of the Women’s Individual Sabre. She beat her opponent 15-13 after a close battle. Her next opponent was South Korean Jeon Ha-Young, who eliminated her from the tournament with a score of 15-7.

Nada Hafez Paris Olympics
Nada Hafez at the Paris Olympics (via Carl Recine)

The Women’s Individual Sabre eventually ended in a French darby between Sara Balzer and Manon Brunet. The latter won the gold medal bout with a score of 15-12. Meanwhile, in the Women’s Individual epee section, Vivian Kong took down Auriane Mallo to secure gold.

Hafez has been a pillar of Egyptian fencing for the past decade. This was the 26-year-old’s third Summer Olympics. She represented Egypt in the sabre events in both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo prior to this event. In fact, this was her best showing so far at the Olympic Games.

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