Amateur air rifle shooters have a lot to take into consideration before they pull the trigger. There's the distance, the wind, the angle, the humidity ... but for Malaysian Olympian Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi, there's another factor to be mindful of: baby kicks. When it comes time for Nur Suryani to compete in this summer's Games in London, she'll be eight months pregnant. The 29-year-old mom to be told The New York Times that training hasn't been hard, but it took a while to convince the government to let her compete in this "condition."
The IOC hasn't kept track of how many pregnant women have competed in the Games, but it's safe to say that Nur Suryani is one of the furthest along pregnant women that's ever gone for the gold. And what did YOU do today.
I feel pretty lame when I compare myself to Nur Suryani. I've neither made a baby, gotten a bull's eye, nor been honored to represent my country in the greatest sporting event of all time. This woman is like a superhero, and I bet seeing an eight-month pregnant woman with a gun is enough to intimidate definitely Robin, and probably Batman. I think she deserves her own D.C. series.
And in case you were wondering how she gets into shooting position with that protruding belly, she admits that it takes longer since she's pregnant, but that overall, it's helped her stability. She credits her weight-gain for a better sense of gravity.
When Nur Suryani's done shooting it up at the Olympics, I suppose she'll head home to shoot something else: a baby out of her body. Can't wait to cheer for her in the next few weeks -- anyone know how to say Go Nur Suryani, You Rock! in Malaysian?
What was the toughest thing you did while pregnant?
Photo via Anuj Biyani/Flickr
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Comments 18
Good for her! That's awesome!
I'm sorry, the level of ignorance in this article is shocking me. I shot competitive air rifle (and .22) for many years. What this woman is doing is unhealthy for her and her unborn child. It's not "cool." Air rifle pellets are made of lead and coated in lead dust. You can see it on your fingers when you get done shooting. There is a warning on the bottom of every tin that explicitly warns pregnant women against use. And that stuff is damn hard to get rid of. It coats everything. Not to mention the positions for air rifle shooting are hard enough for the avrage person and put stress on joints and muscles not used in daily life. This woman is going to have a hard time getting into the proper position at 8 months pregnant, and I don't think the amount of contortion would be good for a growing fetus.
And your description of air rifle shooting made me laugh. Air rifle shooting is NOT done outside. If you've ever held an air rifle pellet, you know why. They weigh less than a sewing needle. Shoot one outside, and it's liable to go anywhere but where you want to it to go. As for the 'humidity" and "distance"....the humidity is just bogus and the targets are set about 33 meters (or feet, depending on the match) down the range. The pellet will go until it hits the metal backboard. Basic law of physics. Even if you were shooting an outdoor .22 match (which is significantly longer), the only time you have to worry about distance is when you significantly change your distance (usually longer), in which case you adjust your sights...it's pretty simple. Goodness.
The things a shooter worries about at the line are: steady breathing, aiming, squeezing the trigger gently (don't yank), and follow through--holding your position 5-10 seconds after you squeeze the trigger to ensure the pellet went where you wanted it to.
There is a LARGE gap between having the opinion that women should "stay inside due to their condition" and thinking a a woman shooting lead covered bullets out of an EXTREMELY loud, bucking STICK while twisting herself into pretzels. There are PLEANTY of situations that are beyond the grasp of a pregnant woman, Fair rides for one. Hell we crawl a womans ass for drinking CAFFINE......much less alchohol and drugs. There ARE things that pregant women should not be doing. By reading this article I would have thought "good for her", after the PP explained the full breadth of the sport....I think there should be some second thoughts!!
I think the hardest thing I probably did was go hiking. But that was mostly just to get the baby out. I stayed totally hydrated and only hiked a small mountain. Nothing huge. I was 40 weeks, but she ended up coming another week after that lol.
When did shooting an air rifle become a sport? I could probably get a gold medal if they would allow air guitar... But anyway, if she's been practicing then the baby is already accustomed to the noise associated with it so no harm there. Unless she's going to lie on her belly and shoot like a frickin soldier crawling on the ground, pregnancy shouldn't effect her "positioning" at all. You stand there, aim, shoot. End of story. Pregnancy shouldn't prohibit her participation... I think the main issue is liability. If the baby is born with a problem that could, in any way, be remotely linked to that event, the Olympics are liable. If she goes into labor while she's there, she will be disqualified which will spawn a lawsuit from her (saying she didn't get a chance, yadda yadda). I think that's the underlying issue here.