The 18-year-old pentathlete will become the first woman from Egypt to serve as a flag bearer at an Olympic event.
And if she wins a medal as expected in the competition that includes swimming, shooting, fencing and running, she would also be the first woman from her country to do so at an Olympic event.
Elmidany said she hopes her prominent role will inspire girls across the Muslim world to take up sports.
"I'm hoping I can be a good role model," Elmidany said Friday as she walked through the athletes' village. "I want to prove that the veil does not have to prevent girls from doing anything." The Youth Olympics, which runs through Aug. 26, features about 3,600 competitors aged 14 to 18 from 204 countries competing in the same 26 sports on the current Summer Olympics program.
Elmidany's success comes at a time when girls across the Muslim world are making historic progress in sports, starting football leagues and competing in sports like boxing and wrestling that would have been unheard of just a few years ago. But many girls still face insurmountable hurdles in trying to compete, from conservative societies that frown on sports to families that would rather keep their daughters at home.
Sharif A. El-Erain, the vice president of the Egyptian Federation of Modern Pentathlon, acknowledges it is much harder to recruit girls than boys and is hoping Elmidany's success will bring the federation more attention, more money and more female athletes.
"For me, that is a dream," he said of an Egyptian woman winning a medal. "We came some close in the last Olympics so if we can make it here it would be great. It will get us more recognition." Most athletes spent Friday training and mingling with teammates at the sprawling village housed at a local university.
While Elmidany was talking of making history, most athletes had their sights on more modest goals — winning gold, reaching personal bests and making friends.
Critics have derided the newly created event as little more than a summer camp and it has come under fire for a lack of support from local Singaporeans. But there was no sign from any of the athletes that they were taking the event lightly.
"This is the closest thing to the Olympics. It's the junior Olympics," said American Amber Bryant-Brock, a 16-year-old 400-meter hurdler. "This is big. I'm anxious and I'm ready to compete. It's scary because it's anybody's race." Simone Meyer, a 17-year-old South African discus thrower, called the competition a "road to 2012," referring to the London Olympics "It will be a great experience," she said. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime. You will learn so much. If you don't have this experience, you'll never know what to expect."
