Pregnant Olympian Hopes To Take Home Gold

Pregnant Olympian Shooting for Gold

Nur Suryani Mohammed Taibi is preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime.

The Malaysian woman is in London and ready to fire off in the 10-meter air rifle competition. Taibi qualified for the Olympic Games over eight months ago and then found out that she would become a mother shortly thereafter.

“I will breathe in and breathe out and try to calm myself down and talk to baby: ‘Behave yourself and help Mummy to shoot.’ And luckily she understands. She always understands,” Taibi told the Olympic news service.

She said she is aware she could got into labor any moment — although she said she hopes to win an Olympic medal before the baby comes.

“If I won the medal, I will see this is as yours, as you helped Mummy so much,” Taibi said, speaking of the baby. “Maybe you give me more strength, more stability and more confidence.”

In order to compete, Taibi has to don a special suit and belt before practicing her craft. Both her parents and her husband are very supportive as she goes for the gold. As an interesting side note, Taibi actually qualified for two events.

She decided to turn down the 50-meter three position air rifle category because of her pregnancy.

Taibi is ranked 47th in the world and won two golds at the Southeast Asian Games in 10-meter air rifle and 50-meter rifle in November.