CAIRO: When 3-on-3 basketball makes its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, referee Sarah Gamal will also be making a breakthrough, as an Arab and African woman officiating at the Games.
Wearing a black veil emblazoned with a sports company’s logo, Gamal stands tall among the high-flying male players at Alexandria United Club, a powerhouse of Egyptian basketball with a rowdy fanbase.
“From the start of my journey as a referee, I haven’t heard one negative comment or faced any obstacles to me being a veiled woman. The veil for me is normal and doesn’t cause any problems,” the 32-year-old told AFP.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) changed its rules in 2017 to allow players to wear the hijab (veil) under certain conditions.
To attract a younger international fanbase, FIBA adopted the 3 on 3 competition popular on public courts around the world before the format was added to the Tokyo Olympic program in 2017.
Games are played on a half court with one basket, as opposed to the traditional end-to-end full-court play in the five against five game. To win, a team must reach 21 points first or outscore their opponents over two 10-minute halves.
Gamal has had plenty of experience blazing a trail for aspiring women referees and players including at the FIBA World Youth Cup in 2018 in Belarus and at the African Women’s Championship in 2017.
“The veil hasn’t affected my refereeing in any tournament so far and to prove it I’m ready to take on the Tokyo Olympics,” she said. “My thinking is focused on training and proper preparation to perform at this important event.”
Working in a male-dominated industry as a civil engineer in Alexandria, she is not afraid of officiating male athletes on hardwood courts.
“I have refereed men’s games in the past and I have had a lot of success running them which garnered the confidence of Egypt’s refereeing committee... It’s the usual for me.”
Gamal fell in love with the game at five years old learning from her older sister.
“I was five when I started hooping. That helped me to organize my time between studying and training. It’s all thanks to my mother, who ran a tight ship, until I reached university and studied civil engineering,” she told to AFP.
“It was difficult, especially since it’s a field that requires studying hard and exerting a lot of effort mentally,” she said.
She is eager to show off her skills and experience at the Olympics.
“My family is still beaming with the news of my selection. It’s a great reward for all the sweat and tears I’ve had to go through in recent years,” said Gamal
She started as a player and switched to refereeing at 16 “because I had a great passion for a deeper understanding of the rules.”
“My family has been completely supportive,” she added.
“Being the first Arab and African woman refereeing 3 on 3 games at the Olympics is a positive. There’s no pressure on me and I am confident that this step will pave the way for other Arab and African women referees,” she said.
“There’s nothing that really scares me, but I do feel responsible,” Gamal added.
She stressed that her family are fine with her traveling during a global pandemic provided she takes precautions.
“My family are a bit worried when I travel... but that has not diminished their enthusiastic support to me,” Gamal said.
As she prepares to hit the court in Tokyo, Gamal has her sights on her next goals.
“I want to make it to the men and women’s World Cups and to maintain the trust the international body has put in me so far.”
First Arab woman basketball referee to stand tall at Olympics
First Arab woman basketball referee to stand tall at Olympics
Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia unveils 2026 International Jockeys’ Challenge
- Japan Cup hero Mickael Barzalona and defending champion Mohammed Aldaham among 14-strong lineup
RIYADH: Japan Cup hero Mickael Barzalona, newly appointed Irish Champion Dylan Browne McMonagle and last year’s winner Mohammed Aldaham have been unveiled by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia as part of the 2026 Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 13.
Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of JCSA, said: “The Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge has always been a favorite part of Saudi Cup weekend for me.
“It is the only challenge in the world that includes equal numbers of men and women competing as individuals, and it has been gratifying to see so many winners from different parts of the world since its inception in 2020,” he said.
The seven women and seven men who will compete in the four-race series over the big weekend includes global representation and features leading UK riders Saffie Osborne and Hollie Doye, Marie Velon from France, Australia’s Angela Jones and the American-based Frenchman Flavien Prat and the US’s Forest Boyce.
Two of the men are locally based jockeys, with Panamanian-born Luis Morales, who has more than 600 winners to his name in Saudi Arabia alone, joining defending champion Aldaham in the lineup after he created history in 2025 by becoming the first Saudi jockey to triumph.
Barzalona will be aiming to carry through his remarkable run of form from 2025, a year in which he won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, King George VI Stakes, England’s Champion Stakes and the Japan Cup on Calandgan (IRE) in addition to notable strikes in the French 1000 Guineas and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Joining Barzalona is 22-year-old Northern Irishman Dylan Browne McMonagle, who is a multiple Group 1 winner and was crowned Irish Champion Jockey last November.
Like Barzalona and Browne McMonagle, Flavien Prat will be making his first appearance in the IJC having established himself as a dominate force in American racing, where he won the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard Country House and has multiple Breeders’ Cup wins to his name, including in the 2022 Classic on the brilliant and unbeaten Flightline (US).
Completing the men’s team is Keita Tosaki, one of Japan’s leading riders with more than 4,000 wins, with strikes on champions such as Real Impact (JPN) and Danon Decile (JPN), and rising British rider Billy Loughnane.
At the age of 17, Loughnane was crowned Champion Apprentice and just two years on is a Group 1 winner; on Dec. 31, 2025, he made modern history with the most number of wins in a calendar year with 223 victories.
Both Hollie Doyle and Saffie Osborne are previous participants, and Doyle will be making her third appearance, having starred in 2025 and 2021 when she also won the Neom Turf Cup for Irish mastermind Willie Mullins aboard True Self (IRE).
The Classic-winning rider has partnered multiple Group 1 winners and heads to Riyadh after a successful stint in Hong Kong through the latter part of 2025.
Osborne makes her return after appearing in 2024 and has broken new ground since then by partnering Heart of Honor (GB) in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in America last year, and the duo have since dazzled with wins at Meydan in Dubai.
American Forest Boyce is a multiple graded stakes-winning jockey, one of Maryland’s most accomplished riders, and makes her first appearance in Riyadh.
With more than 1,000 victories and $40 million in earnings, Boyce will be joined by Australia’s Angela Jones, who has quickly risen through the ranks to become a consistent force in Queensland racing.
Since transitioning to senior status in 2023, Jones has recorded more than 450 career wins from more than 2,800 rides, and has partnered regularly with leading trainer Tony Gollan, forming one of Queensland’s most successful jockey-trainer combinations.
European women are strongly represented, with six‑time winner of the Cravache d’Or Feminine Marie Velon returning, along with debutants Nina Baltromei and Frida Valle‑Skar.
Baltromei is a German jockey who made history in 2025 as the first woman to win the Deutsches Derby.
Valle‑Skar is of Swedish origin and has built a strong career riding in France and internationally. She made her first race ride in 2017, rode her first winner the following year and has since amassed more than 230 wins from more than 2,800 rides.
Last year she also achieved an historic breakthrough when she partnered Matilda to victory in the German 2000 Guineas at Cologne. It was the first time in 54 years that a filly had won the race, and Valle‑Skar became the first female jockey to ride the winner of the Classic.
And Velon has more than 600 career victories, including major international successes. Her partnership with Iresine (FR) has been particularly notable, delivering victories in the Prix Foy (2023) and the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak (2022).
“The JCSA is proud to promote this event with its equal opportunities for men and women, and we are glad to echo this key message shared by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 — which is a guiding light for all sport in Saudi Arabia,” Prince Bandar said.
“Last year we celebrated the first victory by a Saudi jockey and Mohammed Aldaham is back this year to defend his title, may he have the best of luck,” he said. “Jockeys are tremendous and inspiring athletes and I look forward to personally welcoming them all to King Abdulaziz Racecourse and the Saudi Cup.
“The best of luck to all participants,” he added.
