Just days after an Egyptian fencer made headlines with the news that she competed in the Olympic games while pregnant, news outlets are reporting that a second Olympian competed while expecting a baby.
Yaylagul Ramazanova, an archer from Azerbaijan, was visibly pregnant as she competed in her sport. Ramazanova told Xinhua News she is six and a half months pregnant, and she even felt her baby kick before taking a shot.
“I felt my baby kick me before I shot this last arrow, and then I shot a 10,” she said, noting that the baby gave her strength and luck. She also said the pregnancy hasn’t slowed her down in any way.
“During the training for the Olympics, I didn’t feel uncomfortable with my pregnancy. Instead, I felt that I was not fighting alone, but fighting together with my baby,” said Ramazanova.
Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, a sports medicine physician and co-chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s women’s health task force, told ABC that she expects there may be even more pregnant athletes in the future.
READ: Egyptian Olympic fencer inspires by competing at 7 months pregnant: ‘You make all of us proud’
“This is something we’re seeing more and more of, as women are dispelling the myth that you can’t exercise at a high level when you’re pregnant,” Ackerman explained.
She noted that as long as the sport doesn’t present a significant risk to the baby (like, for instance, a bad fall), mothers can expect to compete while pregnant, saying “doctors now recommend that if an athlete is in good condition going into pregnancy, and there are no complications, then it’s safe to work out, train, and compete at a very high level.”
American archer Casey Kaufhold told the Associated Press she was inspired to see Ramazanova compete in this year’s games.
“I think it’s awesome that we see more expecting mothers shooting in the Olympic Games and it’s great to have one in the sport of archery,” she said. “She shot really well, and I think it’s really cool because my coach is also a mother and she’s been doing so much to support her kids even while she’s away.”
“I think it’s awesome for this archer that one day, she can tell her kid, ‘Hey, I went to the Olympic Games and you were there, too.'”
