Egypt's new golden wrestler Kesho on the footsteps of legendary Karam Gaber

Mahmoud Sheleib , Monday 2 Aug 2021

The 23-year old, who competes in the -67kg category, qualified for the Tokyo Games after finishing fifth in the 2019 World Championship.

Egyptian Greco-Roman wrestler Mohamed ‘Kesho’ Ibrahim is dreaming of following in the footsteps of his idol and legendary wrestler Karam Gaber to achieve Olympic glory.

Gaber is Egypt's best ever Olympian, having claimed the gold medal in Athens 2004 and a silver in London 2012. He is an iconic figure in the world of wrestling and Kesho is well placed to succeed him.

The 23-year old, who competes in the -67kg category, qualified for the Tokyo Games after finishing fifth in the 2019 World Championship.

"The qualifying journey was tough, as I played at the Senior World Championship in 2019 and it was my first time to play at such a great tournament. I played six matches and won four of them," Kesho told Sky News Arabia.

"I became the first Egyptian, Arab and African to qualify to the Olympic Games through the World Championship."

Kesho, or The Tank as his coaches call him for his strong physique, started wrestling at the age of five, receiving big support from his family as his passion for wrestling grew.

He swept to many domestic triumphs to become one of the main pillars of the national team, bringing to Egypt nearly 20 continental medals.

Kesho stepped on to the podium for the first time at the 2014 African Championship when he clinched the gold medal, with the tournament then becoming his favourite as he won six more gold medals and a silver.

The year 2018 marked Kesho's first taste of international success. He won the gold medal at the U23 World Championship and replicated that achievement the following year at the same tournament.

Given that Kesho is a serial winner, there is every reason to believe that he can go all the way in Tokyo. He won medals everywhere he went, including gold medals at the African Games and Military Games as well as the silver medal at the Mediterranean Games.

Achievements

2020

Gold medal in the African Championship (Algeria)

Gold medal in Matteo pilcano ranking (Rome)

2019

Gold medal in the seventh World Military Games (China)

Gold medal in youth world championship (under 23 years)

Gold medal in the championship Oleg Carvev Belarussia

Gold medal in African championship

Gold medal in Mediterranean Championship

Gold Medal in African Games

2018