PARIS: The Paris 2024 Olympics are just around the corner and there is plenty to look forward to when it comes to Arab athletes at these games.
Four women representing Arab countries managed to scoop medals in Tokyo 2020 — the Egyptian trio Feryal Abdelaziz (karate gold), Hedaya Malak (taekwondo bronze) and Giana Farouk (karate bronze), along with Kalkidan Gezahegne of Bahrain (athletics silver) — and there could be more in store in Paris.
Here are five Arab women to look out for at these Olympic Games:
Sara Samir (Egypt) — Weightlifting
Weightlifter Sara Samir etched her name in the history books when she clinched bronze in the 69kg event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, to become Egypt’s first-ever female medalist. She was just 18 at the time, and had to skip her high school exams in order to compete.
A gold medalist at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in the -76kg weight class, Samir heads to Paris as a strong medal contender in the ultra-competitive 81kg event, where she will be looking to challenge the likes of Tokyo Olympics -76kg gold medalist Neisi Dajomes of Ecuador, Norway’s Solfrid Koanda, and Australia’s Eileen Cikamatana.
The 26-year-old Samir has been selected as one of two flagbearers for Egypt in the opening ceremony — alongside modern pentathlete Olympic silver medalist Ahmed Elgendy — and is targeting the top step on the podium in Paris, after being forced to miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to the suspension of her country’s weightlifting federation.
“I’m undergoing rigorous training for Paris. I'm technically and physically prepared to compete. My goal is to win gold despite the strong competition. I won’t give up on my dream, no matter what,” Samir told AFP.
Samir’s weightlifting competition in Paris will take place on Aug. 10.
Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) — Artistic gymnastics
At 17 years of age, Kaylia Nemour is already a history-maker.
With a stunning uneven bars routine that draws gasps anytime she performs it, Nemour became the first gymnast representing an African country to clinch a medal at a World Championships when she snatched silver on her signature apparatus in Antwerp last fall.
The France-born Algerian kept up her form this year, sweeping gold in three of the four World Cup events (in Cottbus, Baku, and Doha), and heads to her first Olympics as the favorite for the uneven bars title.
Should she make the podium in Paris, she would become the first African or Arab gymnast to secure an Olympic medal in gymnastics.
“It’s beautiful what she does,” the reigning Olympic uneven bars champion, Nina Derwael, was quoted as saying by sporza.be. “I don’t think anyone will take the gold from her in Paris.”
Women’s qualification in artistic gymnastics commences in Paris on July 28 with the uneven bars final scheduled for Aug. 4.
Dunya Aboutaleb (Saudi Arabia) — Taekwondo
The first Saudi Arabian woman to qualify outright for the Olympics — without the need of a special invitation or wildcard — is looking to further cement her name in the history books by making the podium in the -49kg taekwondo event in Paris this summer.
Dunya Aboutaleb exploded onto the scene when she clinched bronze at the World Taekwondo Championships in Guadalajara in 2022.
She grew up training with boys because there were no girls training in taekwondo in Saudi Arabia and used to cover her hair with a scarf or a hat to blend in with the opposite gender.
Now aged 27 and coached by Kurban Bogdaev, who helped guide Tunisia’s Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi to a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Aboutaleb has high hopes for Paris.
“As the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics, I have reached the stage of kill or be killed,” Aboutaleb told AFP. “I have reached a place where I must achieve something.”
Aboutaleb’s -49kg competition at the Olympics will take place on Aug. 7.
Ray Bassil (Lebanon) — Shooting
A former world No.1 trap shooter and the reigning Asian champion, Ray Bassil is heading to her fourth Olympics this month with her eyes fixed firmly on the podium.
The 35-year-old Bassil took gold at the World Cup in Baku two months ago, which was a welcome boost to her confidence ahead of the action in Paris.
“For me, it is special because it’s bringing back a lot of confidence. And just to assess my whole training from the beginning of the year until today. I’m super happy that my work is paying off,” she said in an interview with the International Shooting Sport Federation.
“I really hope it’s going to be a good kick-off for the Olympics. It’s just a step forward.”
Women’s trap qualification at the Olympics begins on July 30.
Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi (Morocco) — Athletics
The fast rise of Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi in the marathon world has been nothing short of remarkable.
The 32-year-old Moroccan was originally a runner over the 5 kilometer, 10 kilometer and half-marathon distances but switched to the full marathon in 2019.
She won her debut marathon in Marrakesh in 2022, smashing the course record along the way.
Gardadi then made history at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year by clinching bronze to become the first Moroccan or Arab woman to win a World Championship medal in the marathon. That secured her qualification for the Paris Olympics.
This year, Gardadi has not slowed down. She ran a personal-best of 2:24:12 at the Xiamen Marathon in China in January before placing eighth with a 2:24:53 amongst an elite field at the prestigious Boston marathon in April.
Gardadi will be making her Olympics debut in Paris, where she hopes to become Morocco’s first female medalist since 2008.
The women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics is scheduled for Aug. 11.
