INQUIRER Sports

SAO PAULO ? A Chilean Olympic weightlifter unexpectedly gave birth to a baby boy while she was training in a Brazilian gym, reports said Tuesday.

Elizabeth Poblete, 22, did not know she was pregnant, and called for a doctor when she felt unwell a week ago while hoisting weights in the gym in Sao Paulo, where she lives, the news website Globo.com reported.

She then gave premature birth to the 1.15-kilogram (2.54-pound) baby, whom she named Eric Jose after she got over her shock.

Both mother and son were taken to hospital, where the baby was being kept in intensive care.

The head weight trainer in the gym, Horacio Reis, said: "It was a surprise for me. A week ago I acted as a judge in a competition in Chile and this girl was competing. All went well and she won the competition.

"I could see she was a big girl, round and strong. That's all I noticed."

Doctors calculated Poblete must have been six months pregnant.

The training and diet observed by female weightlifters can cause irregular menstruation, obscuring a pregnancy.

Poblete competed for her country in the Beijing Olympics last year. She had been seeking to beef up her body to move from the 75-kilo category to 85 kilos over the past few months.