For nearly a week during the 11-day Paralympics staged in Paris, Egypt kept waiting for its first medal, a delay that weighed heavily on the entire squad. After the country’s performance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, where Egypt secured seven medals (five silver and two bronze) they were determined to add more, including the missing gold, to their collection.

In the end, Egypt won seven medals in Paris: two gold, two silver and three bronze.

Powerlifting marked the start of the haul and the turning point. Egypt clinched a gold medal on the first day of the event, followed by another gold on the second, bringing immense joy and pride. The sense of accomplishment was indescribable, especially when the Egyptian flag was raised high and the national anthem was played, a moment filled with overwhelming pride, and reaffirming love for Egypt.

The first gold came as a surprise. Mohamed Al-Menyawi, a first-time Paralympic participant, made history by becoming the first Egyptian dwarf to win a medal in powerlifting. Competing in the 59kg category, Al-Menyawi’s remarkable achievement exceeded expectations and added a golden moment to Egypt’s Paralympic journey. He lifted 201kg to beat his Chinese competitor. “I am very happy with this achievement. I thought I would compete for a medal but not the gold as we know that the Chinese are pioneers in this sport. I am excited with what I did and I will look for a wife starting from now after I collect the prize money.”

 

Rehab Ahmed proved that the third time’s the charm. After winning silver in her first two Paralympic Games, the Egyptian powerlifter finally tasted gold in Paris.

A four-time world champion, Ahmed made a statement right in her first attempt in the women’s up to 55kg final. The 117kg-lift would have been enough to secure gold but she bettered that with a 121kg-mark in the second round.

“To get a gold medal at the Paralympic Games has been my aim and dream since I started powerlifting,” Ahmed said. “This is the third Paralympic Games for me. I went to Rio 2016 and got a silver medal. I went to Tokyo 2020 and got a silver medal. Now, in Paris, I won a gold and I am very, very happy.”

Egyptian Mohamed Al-Elfat regained the silver he won in London 2012 with an effort of 224kg in his fifth Paralympic Games. Meanwhile, Yurii Babynets took the bronze with a lift of 214kg, winning Ukraine’s first Para powerlifting medal in Paris. The 29-year-old also became the first male Ukrainian Para powerlifter to win a Paralympic medal ever.

Al-Elfat told Al-Ahram Weekly: “I am very thankful for the silver medal and I will continue to compete till I collect the gold. This is my dream and I will go after it whatever it takes.”

Fatma Mahrous collected the silver medal in the 67kg weight category after lifting 139kg. China’s Tan Y secured the gold and the Brazilian Costa De Castrio the bronze.

The two bronze medals were collected by Safaa Hassan in the 79kg weight category and Nadia Fekry in the over 86kg. Hassan lifted 139kg while Fekry lifted 145kg. Fekry was the flag bearer in the closing ceremony together with sitting volleyball player Hossam Massoud.

Fatma Omar, the legendary Egyptian powerlifter who retired recently, was chosen to open an evening session of the Paris powerlifting competition to honor her achievements. Competing in the -56kg category, Omar was a dominant power in her sport, winning gold in her event in four Summer Paralympics.

In sitting volleyball, Egypt won the bronze medal after beating Germany in one of the most difficult rallies in the sport in Paris. Egypt had ended in second place in the World Cup in Cairo but was absent in Tokyo after winning bronze in Rio 2016.

Al-Sayed Moussa steered Egypt to a hard-fought bronze medal in men’s sitting volleyball in Paris, overcoming Germany 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-10) in a thrilling encounter at the North Paris Arena.

It marked Egypt’s third Paralympic bronze in the sport, their first coming in Athens 2004. Germany, having claimed bronze twice before in Barcelona 1992 and London 2012, fell just short of the podium this time.

The deciding set was every bit as tense as the previous ones, with both teams battling for every point. However, it was Egypt who found their rhythm first, with Ashraf Zaghloul Abdel-Aziz Abdullah making a crucial impact, helping his team to a 10-5 lead. Germany struggled to regain their momentum, and as Egypt’s attack continued to gain steam, Saad Moussa stepped up once again, delivering the final blow with a powerful strike to secure a 15-10 win and Egypt’s well-earned bronze medal.

Following the end of the Games Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi extended his congratulations to the country’s champions at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Game. “Your achievements have been a bright mark for Egypt and a testament that Egyptians are always capable of facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. Truly, your determination and persistence are a source of pride for the people of this great nation,” Al-Sisi posted on his official accounts on social media.

Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi met Egyptian athletes at the Egyptian delegation’s headquarters in the Olympic village. He was accompanied by Hossameddin Mustafa, president of the Egyptian Paralympic Committee, and Deputy Minister for Sports Development and head of the Paralympic file Amr Al-Haddad. The visit came as part of Egypt’s continuous support for its athletes participating in Paris.

During the meeting, Sobhi and Mustafa presented immediate financial rewards to the athletes in recognition of their outstanding performances.

Sobhi expressed his “immense pride” in the achievements of the Egyptian athletes, noting that this recognition is part of Egypt’s ongoing commitment, under the leadership of President Al-Sisi, to support its sports figures.

He praised the athletes for their determination and high level of competitiveness, which enabled them to win multiple medals during the tournament.

Sobhi emphasised Egypt’s ambition to be at the forefront of global sporting nations, especially in Paralympic sports. He highlighted that long-term plans are in place to develop young athletes and upgrade sports facilities to meet international standards, ensuring continued success and more medals in future competitions.

“I am 80 per cent satisfied with Egypt’s performance,” Mustafa told the Weekly in an exclusive interview. “Our para athletes exerted their utmost effort and got the medals, although they came late, but it is always like that in powerlifting.

“We have started the journey not ended it. We have to work very hard from now on if we want to compete for more medals in Los Angeles 2028. We have a lot of work ahead and we have to plan well for the future. We have already started training centres in several sports to provide us with a new generation of athletes. We have also agreed with a number of Olympic federations to add new sports like fencing, judo and wheelchair handball. We will also work on opening a specialised training centre for dwarfs in Damietta, the centre of dwarfs in Egypt. Many countries are depending on such athletes to collect more medals especially in powerlifting. We performed better than Tokyo, but we need more.”

Egypt’s best performance in a Paralympics was 30 medals in Atlanta 1996, including eight gold.

In Paris, Egypt finished 41st in the medals table.

It was Egypt’s 14th appearance at the Summer Paralympics since its official debut in 1972.

The 2024 Paralympic Games Paris came to an end on Sunday with a huge celebration at the Stade de France for the closing ceremony after 11 days of spectacular sporting performances, surprises and emotion-packed moments.

After taking part in the opening ceremony in the heart of Paris, the athletes gathered at the Stade de France to be cheered by the public one last time. The evening was the high point of an historic, festive and unifying summer, and was marked by the handover to Los Angeles 2028 before the flame was extinguished.  

Celebrating the success of France’s first Summer Paralympic Games, spectators from all over the world marvelled at some extraordinary sporting feats: the first Paralympic title for the Refugee Team won by Zakia Khudadadi in Para taekwondo; multi-medalled stars such as China’s Jiang Yuyan (the most decorated athlete of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with seven golds) the Brazilian Gabrielzinho in Para swimming (three gold medals), Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner in Para athletics (five gold medals) and the American Oksana Masters in Para cycling (two gold medals.

China won the most medals in Paris, 220, 94 of them gold.

The Paris Paralympics ran from 28 August 8 September and had more than 4,000 athletes from around the world competing in 549 medal events across 22 sports.

The Paralympic Games is an international sports competition for athletes with disabilities.

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* A version of this article appears in print in the 12 September, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly