{"id":553737,"date":"2021-06-04T07:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T07:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/06\/04\/three-bronze-medals-and-lots-of-firsts-for-egypts-female-olympians-at-rio-2016\/"},"modified":"2021-06-04T07:00:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T07:00:17","slug":"three-bronze-medals-and-lots-of-firsts-for-egypts-female-olympians-at-rio-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/06\/04\/three-bronze-medals-and-lots-of-firsts-for-egypts-female-olympians-at-rio-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Three bronze medals and lots of firsts for Egypt\u2019s female Olympians at Rio 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our last national appearance at the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro five years <\/strong>ago saw<\/strong> Egyptian athletes bring home three bronze medals<\/strong> and break ground on some major historic feats for our women athletes on the global stage. Some of our best performances in 2016 came in both men\u2019s and women\u2019s weightlifting competitions, where we gained two bronze medals and ranked collectively higher than in any other sport.<\/p>\n

Sara Ahmed Samir, 18, <\/strong>made history<\/a><\/strong> as the first Egyptian woman to secure an Olympic medal<\/strong> after coming in third place in the 69 kg women\u2019s weightlifting event. Samir lifted a total of 255 kg (112 kg in snatch and 143kg in clean and jerk).<\/p>\n

Mohamed Ihab, 27, was the second Egyptian to medal<\/strong>, claiming bronze<\/a>in the men\u2019s 77 kg weightlifting event. He secured a podium position after lifting a total 361 kg (165 kg snatch and 196 kg in clean and jerk). Ihab was previously barred from participating in the 2012 London Olympics after failing a dope test but performed exceptionally well in 2016.<\/p>\n

Hedaya Malak, 23, was the third Egyptian athlete to be <\/strong>awarded<\/a><\/strong> a bronze medal<\/strong> after coming in third place in the women\u2019s 57 kg Taekwondo event. Malak defeated Belgian fighter Raheleh Asemani with a golden kick in the fourth round, breaking a three-round tie.<\/p>\n

A first for women\u2019s beach volleyball: <\/strong>Doaa El Ghobashi and Nada Moawad\u2019s participation in the women's beach volleyball competition in 2016 marked the first time for an Egyptian team to qualify for the game and the first ever appearance<\/a> of a beach volleyball athlete in the hijab.<\/p>\n

Close, but not quite:<\/strong> 25-year-old weightlifter Shaimaa Haridi fell short<\/a> of a medal position in 2016, coming in fourth place in the women\u2019s +75 kg weightlifting event after lifting a total 278 kg. Afaf El Hodhod, 20, came in fifth place<\/a> in the women\u2019s 10m air pistol competition, where she scored 137.1 points and became the first Egyptian<\/a> to reach the finals in the event. And 27-year-old freestyle wrestler Inas Mostafa came in fourth place<\/a> in the women's 69kg category and became the first Egyptian woman to reach the semifinals at an olympic freewrestling contest.<\/p>\n

Notable mentions:<\/strong> Although 21-year-old swimming champ Farida Osman finished<\/a> in 12th place in the women\u2019s 50 meter butterfly event with a time of 58.26, she set a new African record for the contest. Nadia Negm<\/a> finished in sixth place in Final D, 24th place overall at the single sculls rowing event but came home with the best-ever performance<\/a> for an Egyptian female athlete in rowing. Haidi Morsi ranked 28th in the modern pentathlon but became the youngest Egyptian athlete<\/a> to ever participate in an Olympic event at just 17 years\u2019 old.<\/p>\n

Those that didn\u2019t quite meet expectations: <\/strong><\/p>\n