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🇬🇷 Greece /Sports

Olympian who competed while pregnant helped her daughter fall in love with archery

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Azerbaijani archer Yaylagul Ramazanova competed at the Paris Olympics while six and a half months pregnant.
  • She said her baby kicked before her final arrow, which scored a 10 and secured victory over China’s An Qixuan, considered the favourite.
  • Ramazanova’s daughter has since developed a love of archery, while another pregnant athlete, Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez, also competed in Paris.

Yaylagul Ramazanova felt her unborn baby kick just before the most important arrow of her first Olympic appearance. The Azerbaijani archer then scored a 10 and defeated China’s An Qixuan, who had been considered the favourite.

I felt my baby kick me before I shot that final arrow, and then I hit a 10.

· Yaylagul RamazanovaShe described the moment before the final shot that secured her victory.

Ramazanova competed at the Paris Olympics six and a half months pregnant. The 34-year-old said pregnancy did not feel like an obstacle because she felt she was competing alongside her baby rather than alone.

“I felt my baby kick me before I shot that final arrow, and then I hit a 10,” Ramazanova told Xinhua. A 10 is the highest possible score for a single shot, and it was enough to give her the victory.

I did not feel that I was competing alone, but that I was competing together with my baby.

· Yaylagul RamazanovaShe explained how she experienced competing while pregnant.

She said she never felt uncomfortable because of the pregnancy. “I did not feel that I was competing alone, but that I was competing together with my baby,” she said. World number one Casey Kaufhold of the United States congratulated her and said it was wonderful to see more expectant mothers competing at the Olympics, including in archery.

I think it is wonderful that we are seeing more expectant mothers competing at the Olympic Games, and it is wonderful that we have one in archery.

· Casey KaufholdThe American world number one praised Ramazanova’s Olympic performance.

Ramazanova’s daughter is now following her mother’s path and has developed a love for archery. Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez also competed in Paris while seven months pregnant. Hafez wrote that what appeared to be two athletes on the field were actually three: herself, her opponent and her unborn baby.

What looks to you like two athletes on the field were actually three! It was me, my opponent and my little baby who has not yet come into the world!

· Nada HafezThe Egyptian fencer described competing while seven months pregnant.
About this summary

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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