Egypt’s first gold and silver medals of the Paris Games dominated the airwaves

Last night’s talk shows were abuzz with festive news from the Olympics, honing in on the victories of modern pentathlon athlete Ahmed El Gendy and weightlifter Sara Samir, who took home Egypt’s first gold and silver medals of the Paris 2024 Games.

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The nation’s talking heads showered the Olympians with praise, calling on the state to ramp up support for athletes to ensure similar successes in future competitions. Amongst these were Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 3:06 | 3:38) and El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 1:51 | 6:07).

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi personally congratulated Egypt’s medalists that have so far clinched gold, silver, and bronze in Paris — Mohamed El Sayed came in third in the men's épée individual earlier in the Games. Ala Mas’ouleety had coverage (watch, runtime: 0:36).

In contrast, the Egyptian football team faced harsh criticism following their 6-0 defeat to Morocco, which cost them the bronze medal. Moussa described the loss as a “disaster,” saying that the team “walked into the match already defeated” (watch, runtime: 2:43). The talk show host called on Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly to hold the Egyptian Olympic delegation accountable, adding (watch, runtime: 3:43) that “the Egyptian people are outraged by the team's performance.”