Five-month pregnant woman wins gold medal at SEA Games 29

Quzandria won the Equestrian individual event at the 2017 SEA Games while pregnant with her second child.

This is the second time Quzandria Nur Mahamad Fathil has won a SEA Games gold medal, and it is also the first time this Malaysian female athlete has surpassed her brother Qabil Ambak to win after 16 years of participating in the regional sports festival.

The 35-year-old athlete told the Straits Times: "I am five months pregnant. I consulted with a doctor before the SEA Games, and finally decided to compete. When I train and compete, I tell myself not to think about the fetus in my belly, and pregnancy cannot stop me from achieving my goals."

Quzandria - Malaysian equestrian champion at SEA Games while five months pregnant. Photo: Straits Times.

"Maybe the fetus brought me luck today. Today, every challenge became more difficult but that made the victory sweeter," Quzandria continued.

Quzandria is the second athlete to win a gold medal at the 29th SEA Games while pregnant. In an online interview with VnExpress yesterday, September 7, coach Mai Duc Chung revealed that among the Vietnamese women's football team that won the 2017 SEA Games, there was also a pregnant player who was still determined to compete and win.

It is not uncommon in sports for female athletes to compete professionally while pregnant.

Olympian Alysia Montano competed in the women's 800m at the US Track and Field Championships in June 2017 while she was five months pregnant.

Montano, with a flower in her hair, finished last out of 30 competitors, but was still smiling because she had finished the race with a baby in her belly. Previously, in 2014, Montano even competed while eight months pregnant with her first child.

Alysia Montano competes while five months pregnant. Photo: AFP.

In January 2017, Serena Williams won the Australian Open while pregnant with her first child. This information was later confirmed by her. Serena is taking a break from competing to take care of her first child.

According to VNE