Competing for two: Pregnant Olympians push the boundaries of possibility in Paris

PARIS — Many Olympic athletes take to Instagram to share news of their exploits, trials, victories and heartbreaks. But she felt different, and volleyball partner Misty May-Treanor said to her — presciently, it turned out — “You’re probably pregnant.” FILE _ Miss May Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh Jennings celebrate a win over April Ross and Jennifer Kessy during the women’s Gold Medal beach volleyball match between two United States teams at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, in London. “This is something we’re seeing more and more of,” says Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, a sports medicine physician and co-chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s women’s health task force, “as women are dispelling the myth that you can’t exercise at a high level when you’re pregnant.” Ackerman notes there’s been little data, and so past decisions on the matter have often been arbitrary. “So they quit the sport, they don’t return to compete, or they aren’t the same.” For the sake of her career, she said, she doesn’t plan to have children in the near future: “As long as I can avoid it for the sake of my sport, I will postpone it because I am not ready for that yet.” At the Paris fencing venue over the weekend, fans were mixed between admiration for the bravery and determination of Hafez, a 26-year-old former gymnast with a degree in medicine, and speculation about whether it was risky. “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 in comments to The Associated Press.