Aminat Idrees/Photo Courtesy of CNN
Aminat Idrees, a Nigerian athlete in Taekwondo, took home gold this week at the National Sports Festival, reported CNN. The competition was held in Edo State in Nigeria.
Her athletic accomplishment is worthy of celebration on its own, but Idrees, 26, achieved this win while eight months pregnant. She also medaled in other non-combat events known as Poomsae.
Rightly proud of her feat, she said, “It’s such a privilege for me. I just decided to give it a try after training a couple of times. It feels really good.” Idrees continued, “Before I got pregnant, I have always enjoyed training, so it didn’t seem different with pregnancy.”
While many people have found her inspiring, not everyone felt the feat was exceptional.
Tweeter @IgaMoore, responding to a video of Idrees’s win, commented, “This is rather sickening than inspiring.”
The American Pregnancy Association
advises that exercise during pregnancy is not only safe but recommended.The athlete took the comments in stride and offered a different perspective. “A lot of people don’t understand what Taekwondo is actually about. I feel this is an avenue to educate people about this,” she said. She further explained that the events she competed in are more like exercise than the hardcore combatant nature of Taekwondo.
The chairman of the committee that organized this year’s competition, Philip Shaibu, said she had the training and medical clearance necessary to participate in the competition while pregnant.
In addition to her gold medal, the first for Lagos state, Idrees won a silver medal in her team event and a bronze in a separate individual event.
The mom-to-be is proof that Black Girl Magic never sleeps.