From weightlifting to gymnastics and boxing, Arab athletes made the nation proud at the Olympics.
Meet the Olympics winners here
The 2024 Olympics concluded last night in Paris, and have marked a very special season for Arab athletes.
Despite controversy and a few ups and downs over the past 17 days, the best sportswomen and sportsmen from the region did their nations proud, earning a total of 17 medals. Overall, the medals were won by athletes from seven countries: Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Bahrain and Algeria. Bahrain won the highest number of medals this time with four major wins (two gold, one silver, and one bronze). In second place was Algeria, bringing home three medals (two gold, one bronze).
Tied in third place, Egypt and Tunisia earned three medals each (one gold, one silver, one bronze), followed by Morocco, which also won three medals (two gold, one bronze). Jordan came in fifth with one silver medal, and Qatar completed the seventeen wins with a bronze medal.
It’s no easy feat earning an Olympics medal, and while 2024 has marked a proud moment for the region, it’s also important to note that this isn’t the first time our athletes have brought home this number of wins. Back in 2020, the Tokyo Olympics saw Arab athletes earn a total of 18 medals!
Among this year’s winners, some of the most talked about athletes were the ones that went through the biggest hardships. Algeria’s Imane Kheliff faced speculation and bullying at a global level, but remained undeterred in her pursuit for gold. Winning her medal last week, she said, “I sent them a message with this gold medal, and I say my dignity has been restored and my honor is above anything else.”
Days prior to Khelif’s proud moment, France-born Algerian athlete Kaylia Nemour (who be made history when she became the first-ever African gold medalist in gymnastics. The win was twice as special given Nemour’s past dispute with the French gymnastics federation, which led to her switching from competing for France to competing for Algeria in 2023.
Also in the list of noteworthy names is Tunisia’s Firas Katoussi, who won a gold medal in 80kg taekwondo, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, who brought hold gold in 3,000m steeplechase, and Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy, who set a world record with 1,555 points in modern pentathlon. Congratulations to all the athletes who represented the region and did their nations proud. Below, a complete list of all the Olympics winners from the region.
Algeria
Gold: Imane Khelif, women’s 66kg boxing
Gold: Kaylia Nemour, women’s uneven bars artistic gymnastics
Bronze: Djamel Sedjati, men’s 800m
Bahrain
Gold: Winfred Yavi, women’s 3000m steeplechase
Gold: Akhmed Tazhudinov, men’s freestyle 97kg wrestling
Silver: Salwa Eid Naser, women’s 400m
Bronze: Gor Minasyan, men’s 102kg weightlifting
Egypt
Gold: Ahmed ElGendy, men’s individual modern pentathlon
Silver: Sara Ahmed, women’s 81kg weightlifting
Bronze: Mohamed ElSayed, men’s épée individual fencing
Jordan
Silver: Zaid Kareem, men’s 68kg taekwondo
Morocco
Gold: Soufiane El Bakkali, men’s 3000m steeplechase
Bronze: Men’s football team
Qatar
Bronze: Mutaz Essa Barshim, men’s high jump
Tunisia
Gold: Firas Katoussi, men’s 80kg taekwondo
Silver: Fares Ferjani, men’s sabre individual fencing
Bronze: Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, men’s 58kg taekwondo
source/content: en.vogue.me /nitya chablani (headline edited)
________
___________________