“I was never alone.”
Olympians competing at Paris 2024 with babies in tow.
The Olympic Games have inspired a wave of inspirational moms-to-be who have taken to the Olympic stage to compete against the world’s best athletes while pregnant. There are also “super moms” who have just given birth.
One such example is the story of a new mom archer in archery. Yalagul Ramazanova, 34, from Azerbaijan, was six and a half months pregnant when she shot an arrow at a small target 70 meters away.
He faced China’s An Qi Xuan, 24, in the round of 32 of the women’s individual archery competition, and the match was so close that it had to go to an extended shootout. In the shoot-off, as she was aiming her bowstring at the bull’s-eye, the baby in her belly gave her a signal.
Ramazanova immediately pulled the string, and the arrow hit the maximum score of 10, giving her the match win.
“I think the baby in my belly was kicking and signaling me to shoot now,” she said in an interview after her victory.
Her challenge is echoed by her fellow Olympic athletes. Kathy Kerfold, 20, who competed for the U.S. archery team, called Ramazanova’s story “pretty cool” and envied her, saying, “I think it’s great to be able to tell your kids later on, ‘Hey, when your mom went to the Olympics, you were there.
Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez, 26, is also a favorite. She competed in the fencing sabre event at the Games, but was eliminated in the round of 16 of the individual competition on March 29 (local time) by South Korea’s Jeon Ha-Young.
After the competition, Hafez revealed that she was seven months pregnant. “It may have looked like there were two athletes on the field, but there were actually three,” she wrote on social media, “me, my opponent, and my little baby, who hasn’t come into the world yet.”
In fact, Hafez is a veteran of Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021. In the previous two Olympics, he fought alone.
Fencing is a sport that relies on quickness, as you have to be able to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses in a split second. Competing while pregnant is no easy task.
But Hafez didn’t let that stop her. Instead, she fought with the precious life inside her and never felt lonely, achieving her best result in three Olympics (round of 16) in Paris with her child.
“I had to balance life and sports (after the pregnancy), I had to fight a lot of things,” Hafez said, “but the Olympics is a stage where it’s worth it to compete.”
There have been mythical figures in the 안전놀이터 past who have won gold while pregnant. Kerry Walsh Jennings (45, USA) competed in beach volleyball at the 2012 London Olympics.
Jennings won three consecutive gold medals between 2004 and 2012. In fact, it was later revealed that she competed and won in 2012 without realizing that she was five weeks pregnant.
“I was pregnant when I threw myself fearlessly and went for gold for my country,” Jennings told a U.S. television program after the Games. The child she conceived in 2012 was her third.
Serena Williams (USA), who competed in the singles at the 2017 Australian Open tennis tournament, also won the title while playing with a baby in her belly. It was also the last time she won a major tournament with a baby.
It’s not easy for pregnant women to compete in Olympic events that are usually decided by 0.01 to 0.1 seconds. Their movements are slower than usual, and they may not be able to perform at 100% for psychological reasons.
However, the strong performances and beautiful challenges of these moms-to-be have shown that pregnant women can perform at a high level and win medals.
“The stereotype that women can’t perform at a high level during pregnancy is disappearing,” said Kathryn Ackerman, chair of Women’s Health at the U.S. Olympic Committee. “While sports like skiing can be risky, fencing, archery, shooting, and other sports are fully accessible to pregnant women.”
Some super moms have competed in the Olympics shortly after giving birth. Ban, 24, who competes in the 10-meter mixed air rifle, gave birth to a daughter in May last year. “I want to tell younger people that having a baby doesn’t end your career,” she said.
France’s judo queen Clarice Agbegnenu, 32, who made headlines at the 2022 World Championships for breastfeeding her daughter in the warm-up room at the venue, also took home a bronze medal in the women’s 63kg judo at the Games.
