DUBAI: Athletes representing Arab countries claimed an unprecedented seven gold medals during the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which came to an end on Sunday with a spectacular closing ceremony at Stade de France.
The Arab contingent in Paris provided many memorable moments and not only from those who ended up on the podium; some of the near misses were just as inspiring.
We got to see Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam take part in the heat of his life during the third round of the competition, against Brazil’s Joao Chianca, scoring a huge 9.70 on one of his waves yet still make a tearful exit from the competition.
There was also heartbreak for Jordan’s Rama Abo-Alrub, who came ever so close to defeating top-seeded Nafia Kus Aydin in the quarter-finals of the taekwondo +67kg. The 23-year-old’s tears were incredibly moving and showed the depth of her belief that she could have posted an upset.
In the pool, Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi just missed out on the podium in the 800 meters, placing fourth among a stacked field. The 19-year-old impressed in all three distances he swam and will no doubt be one to watch in the future.
Before we officially bid farewell to the Paris Olympics, here are 10 particularly special moments that featured Arab athletes during the 2024 Games.
Elgendy’s record-breaking gold
What could possibly be better than becoming the first African to win an Olympic medal in your sport? Returning to the Olympics three years later and winning gold with a record-breaking performance, of course.
After clinching silver in the modern pentathlon in Tokyo, Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy went one better as he topped the podium at Versailles on Saturday, setting a new modern pentathlon world record of 1,555 points in the process.
The 24-year-old ran to hug his mother on the sidelines after securing Egypt’s only gold of the Paris Olympics. He was first man from his country to win more than one Olympic medal since Karam Gaber claimed wrestling silver in 2012 to go with the gold he won in 2004.
Nemour makes history for Africa
Also flying the flag for Africa and Arab sport, French Algerian Kaylia Nemour became the first gymnast from the African continent to win an Olympic medal when she took gold in the uneven bars event in artistic gymnastics.
The 17-year-old, who was born in France, was near flawless as she performed her breathtaking bars routine, which earned her a massive score of 15.70 in the final.
Nemour also performed well in the all-round competition, making the final and placing fifth overall, just 3.232 points behind gold medalist Simone Biles.
Khelif rises above the noise
Algeria’s other gold in Paris was claimed by Imane Khelif, who triumphed in the 66kg division to become the first Arab or African female boxer to make an Olympic podium.
The 25-year-old endured an unimaginable amount of injustice, scrutiny and online harassment during her time in Paris. She was misgendered and disrespected by many but somehow rose above it all as she powered to victory and clinched gold. She showed grace in every interview she gave and said her success had restored her honor and was the perfect response to those who had attacked her.
Palestinian athletes fly the flag
Eight Palestinian athletes competed at Paris 2024, all of them united by one mission: to raise the flag of their country, shine a light on the horrors taking place in Gaza, and provide a voice and platform for their people back home.
“For us to just ignore what’s going on is not feasible,” Valeria Tarazi, who swam in the 200m medley heats, told ABC News. “We’re affected by this every single day of our lives and it absolutely is our responsibility to speak out on what’s happening. And we’re not here to be politicians but we are here to tell our stories.
“Sport has given me more than I could ever ask for. But my job as an Olympian, here, is not to do my sport, be done and achieve all my goals, it’s to give back, it’s to educate.”
The Palestinian delegation received a standing ovation when they entered the Stade de France during the closing ceremony on Sunday and paraded around the stadium wearing the traditional keffiyeh headdress and waving their nation’s flag one more time.
Hafez stuns world with pregnancy announcement
Nada Hafez from Egypt reached the last 16 in sabre fencing by knocking out American No.7 seed Elizabeth Tartakovsky, before exiting the competition following a defeat by South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung.
Her impressive performance does not sound particularly out of the ordinary — but shortly after the defeat, Hafez made the stunning announcement on her Instagram page that she had been competing while seven months pregnant.
The 26-year-old instantly became one of the most talked-about athletes of the Games, as she proved just how limitless we can be, as humans, and reminded everyone never to underestimate the power of women.
Morocco and Egypt reach soccer semi-finals
Not one but two Arab teams made it to the semi-finals of the football competition, with Morocco ultimately securing bronze and Egypt finishing in fourth place.
The Atlas Lions began their Olympics campaign with a wild victory over Argentina and ended it by netting six goals in the third-place play-off against their North African rivals.
Moroccan player Soufiane Rahimi was the tournament’s top scorer, with eight goals, and the first player in Olympic history to find the net in six consecutive games.
Egypt’s journey at the Games ended with a thrashing but the Pharaohs impressed on the road to the bronze-medal decider, defeating eventual champions Spain in the group stage and giving France a run for their money in the semis.
Barshim cements high jump legacy
Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim closed the final chapter on his Olympic career by becoming the first athlete to win four high-jump medals at the Games.
A silver medalist at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and gold medalist at Tokyo 2020, he made the podium for a fourth-consecutive Games by taking bronze at the Stade de France on Saturday.
The 33-year-old brought so much character to the high jump over the past 12 years, and of all his contemporaries he came closest to breaking Javier Sotomayor’s world record. He will be missed.
Katoussi leads trio of taekwondo medalists
The Arab world continues to make significant strides in taekwondo, and Tunisian Firas Katoussi became the latest addition to the region’s growing list of champions.
The 28-year-old was near-untouchable in all of his bouts as he stormed to gold in the -80kg event and then danced with joy in celebration at the heart of the Grand Palais.
Zaid Kareem from Jordan clinched silver in the -68kg event, while Mohammed Khalil Jendoubi from Tunisia added to the silver he won in Tokyo 2020 by securing bronze in Paris in the -58kg division.
Samir bags second career Olympic medal
She was devastated to miss out on gold but Sara Samir still had plenty to be proud of as she won a second Olympic medal to go with the bronze she won in Rio in 2016.
In the 81kg weightlifting event, the Egyptian briefly held the Olympic record in the clean and jerk, later broken again by Norwegian gold medalist Solfrid Koanda, before securing silver with 268kg.
Samir is one of only three Egyptian women to win more than one Olympic medal.
El-Bakkali defends title
He looked to be in a tough position late in the race but Moroccan runner Soufiane El-Bakkali managed to carve out enough space to take the lead and successfully defend his 3,000m steeplechase gold medal with a season-best time of 8 minutes 6.05 seconds.
In the women’s steeplechase, Winfred Yavi from Bahrain set a new Olympic record to take gold with a time of 8:52.76, the fourth-fastest of all-time in the event.
