in Egypt, football is king, weightlifting is queen

4 mins

Egypt is heading to its 23rd participation in the Summer Olympics in Paris, for 31 medals. Among these charms, no less than eleven come from weightlifting, including five in gold, even though the country has only won the most beautiful metal eight times. So, what is this sport where strength is king doing, in a nation where the Al Ahly football club and the national team act as kings of Africa in terms of results?

Stéphane Hatot is a collector of sports objects, a keen weightlifter and also president of the French Strength Federation. A fine connoisseur of the history of this sport, he obviously observed Egyptian athletes competing with the greatest nations on the Olympic stage, starting in the 1920s. Egypt has athletes who already competed with the French before World War II, when France dominated weightlifting “, he emphasizes.

A sport with ancient roots

Indeed, while the French won gold nine times between 1920 and 1936, their Egyptian competitors also did well. El-Sayed Nosseir was adorned with gold in 1928, but above all the Berlin Games were a consecration: two gold medals, one silver and two bronze for the delegation from the land of the pharaohs.

“ In Middle Eastern countries, there is still an interest in strength sports. In Türkiye, in Iran where they are fond of weightlifting… », analyzes Stéphane Hatot. He recalls that in Arab-Muslim culture, immense athletes have left their mark on this sport: “ They have athletes who dominated weightlifting in the late 20th century, early 21st, like Hossein Reza Zadeh [doublé médaillé d’or olympique en 2000 et 2004, et quadruple champion du monde chez les super-lourds, NDLR] “.

With an accent perhaps more pronounced on the Nile side. Indeed, if the country has a sporting reservoir probably more inclined to football than Iran, or even to squash, completely dominated by the Egyptians in recent years, weightlifting is rooted in its ancient history. The Olympic strength events, born in Antiquity and having appeared in the very first versions of the Games, were born between Greece and Egypt. Greece also has a certain history of high performance in this sport, with more than 10% of its Olympic medals obtained in weightlifting, this cannot be invented.

“ Showdowns of strength in ancient times were often depicted with figures holding stonesdescribes Stéphane Hatot. These are not the best known disciplines, I don’t know what the movements were, but we found representations in these regions. » Distant roots which have nevertheless taken a hit in recent years.

The specter of doping

Firstly because in its recent sporting history, Egypt has been less successful. The majority of Olympic medals won in weightlifting were won in the first half of the 20th century, before a return to form in Beijing and Rio (2008-2016). After which, nothing more. Particularly because of doping cases that have tainted the Egyptian federation.

After seven positive tests carried out following a series of seven anti-doping controls among young Egyptian weightlifters in 2016, the ax fell in 2019: the country was suspended for two years from all participation in international competitions, including the Olympics. Despite an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the sanction in December of the same year, a real blow for Egyptian sport

For the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris will welcome the largest Egyptian delegation in history, reinforced by the return of its weightlifters all suspended in Tokyo. With good chances of a medal, since Karim Abokhala, who was crowned world champion in Doha last year in the -96 kg, and Sara Ahmed, bronze medalist in Rio and 2022 world champion in the -69 kg, will be there.