Monday, August 12, 2024

Paris 2024 Olympics: Egypt got silver and gold medals at the last moment thanks to Sarah Samir and Ahmed El-Gendy "Updated"

Saturday began with a horrific massacre by the Israeli army, which killed nearly 100 civilians in a school that had been turned into a refuge, all under the pretext of targeting a Hamas base. The Israeli army released a list of the victims' names, claiming they were Hamas members.

However, it was later revealed that these individuals were civilians, some of whom worked in Gaza's government bodies, while others had family members affiliated with Hamas and Fatah.

Videos and photos of human remains gathered in plastic bags serve as a stark reminder to millions of Arabs, including Egyptians, of their perceived vulnerability despite their numbers and strength. It is disheartening to note that out of 13 OPEC members, 8 are Muslim-majority countries including 7 Arab countries.

This tragedy has been dubbed "The Dawn Massacre" in Arabic social media or “Al-Tabaeen school attack” in international media.

It is dubbed “Dawn Massacre” in Arabic because many of the victims, mostly men and boys, were preparing for the Dawn prayer early in the morning. The scenes were deeply distressing, and the massacre will haunt us forever.

Yet, as the day drew to a close, a small glimmer of hope emerged for millions of Egyptians.

Despite the backdrop of such dire events, Egypt secured two medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics—one gold and one silver. We got the three medals: bronze, silver and gold. 

Though it might seem trivial to mention Olympic medals in the context of a massacre and ongoing conflict, this post serves as a brief mental escape from the flood of bad news.

It began with Sarah Samir, the Egyptian woman weightlifter who revived the country’s old legacy in the Olympics.

Sarah Samir in her weightlifting attempt at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Samir got a silver medal in the women's 81kg event. 


It is her first silver medal in the Olympics.

This is the second Olympic medal for Sarah Samir who got a bronze in Rio De Janeiro 2016. Ironically, Sarah scored her first Bronze medal on 10 August too. 

Sarah after receiving her silver medal. 

It was like she was celebrating her Olympic anniversary by winning an even higher medal.

The working-class girl from Ismailia is officially an Egyptian Olympian legend by all measures. You can follow Sarah Samir on Instagram here.

 Queen Sarah, as the local media dubbed her, is the 12th Egyptian Olympian to win a silver medal, following Farid Simaika, Saleh Soliman, Atiya Hammouda, Mahmoud Hassan, Othman El-Sayed, Mohamed Ali Rashwan, Mohamed Ali, Alaaeldin Abouelkassem, Abeer Abdel Rahman, Karam Gaber, and Ahmed Elgendy.

Shortly after Sarah’s medal, all eyes were on the modern pentathlon watching Egypt’s Olympian Ahmed El-Gendy.

El-Gendy already got a surprising last-minute silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The 24-year-old engineer did not let Egyptians down and got a gold medal in modern pentathlon. 

He also broke both the Olympic and world records with a score of 1555 points.

The Egyptian anthem was played in Paris at last.

The nerd boy is the first athlete from Africa and the Arab world to win medals, including an Olympic gold medal, in modern pentathlon. 

Ahmed El-Gendy is also the seventh Egyptian Olympian to win two Olympic medals after Farid Simaika in Diving (1928), Ibrahim Shams in Weightlifting (1936 and 1948),  Karam Gaber in Greco-Roman Wrestling (2004 and 2012), Abeer Abdel Rahman in Weightlifting (2008 and 2012), Hedaya Malak in Taekwondo (2016 and 2020) and Sara Samir in Weightlifting (2016 and 2024).

A quick fact that may surprise you. Ahmed El-Gendy began to play this very tiring sport thanks to his mother because he used to have asthma.

El-Gendy was a champion when he was a little boy in 2011

Another fact is that his younger brother Mohamed El-Gendy, who looks identical to him is also a modern pentathlon champion.

All respect to the El-Gendys’ mother who supported her boys and took them to training since they were boys till they became men.

All respect to the family of Sara Samir who supports their daughter to become a true Olympian against all odds.

Both Sarah Samir and Ahmed El-Gendy were our Egyptian Flagbearers in the inauguration and closing ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In summary, we got a bronze medal in men's individual Epee thanks to Mohamed El-Said, a silver medal in women's weightlifting "81 kg" thanks to Sarah Samir and a gold medal in men's modern pentathlon thanks to Ahmed El-Gendy.

Egypt's Paris 2024 Olympics medalists from left to right 
Mohamed El-Sayed, Sarah Samir and Mohamed El-Gendy

Egypt still tops the Arab world Olympic medals records with 41 Olympic medals. We got 9 golds, 12 silvers and 20 bronzes.

Egypt also won a medal in a row from a woman athlete in the 5th Olympics. These Olympics are the second Olympics in a row Egypt got a gold medal in it. 

The 2024 Olympics are over, and we've begun a new season of "Why didn’t we get more medals, even though we had the largest Olympic delegation? Cherchez la corruption in the sports federations!" 

According to the Ministry of Sports and Youth, over one billion Egyptian pounds were spent on the athletes for these Olympics. 

We had over 152 Olympians at these Games, but only 29 athletes reached the medal rounds. We got fourth place in Men's handball, football and Sabre. 

We have corruption in sports federations to the level I wonder how our athletes managed to qualify for the Olympics.

Sarah and Ahmed with a police officer at Cairo International Airport

Till the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics inshallah, do not forget to follow the Paris Paralympics 2024 after a couple of days. 

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