Paris: The Paris 2024 Olympics are just around the corner and there is plenty to see when it comes to Arab athletes at these Games.
Four women representing Arab countries managed to win medals at Tokyo 2020 – Egypt's trio Farrell Abdelaziz (karate gold), Hedaya Malak (taekwondo bronze) and Gianna Farooq (karate bronze), Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne (athletics silver) – and there. There may be more in store in Paris.
Here are five billion women to watch at these Olympic Games:
Sara Samir (Egypt) – Weightlifting
Weightlifter Sarah Sameer etched her name in the history books to become Egypt's first female medalist after winning the bronze medal in the 69kg category at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She was just 18 at the time, and had to skip high school exams to compete.
Sameer, who won gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in the -76kg category, heads to Paris as a strong medal contender in the ultra-competitive 81kg event, where she will look to challenge the Tokyo Olympics -76kg gold medallist. Neisi Dajoms from Ecuador, Solfrid Coanda from Norway and Eileen Sikamatana from Australia.
Samir, 26, has been selected as one of two flagbearers for Egypt at the opening ceremony – along with modern pentathlete Olympic silver medalist Ahmed Elgendi – and is targeting the top step on the podium in Paris after missing out on Tokyo. 2020 Olympics due to the suspension of his country's weightlifting federation.
“I am training hard for Paris. I am technically and physically ready to compete. My goal is to win the gold despite the tough competition. I will not give up on my dream, no matter what,” Samir told AFP.
Sameer's weightlifting competition in Paris will be held on August 10.
Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) – Artistic Gymnastics
At 17 years old, Kalia Namor is already a history maker.
With a stunning uneven bars routine whenever she performs it, Neymor became the first gymnast representing an African country to win a medal at the world championships, taking silver on her signature apparatus in Antwerp last fall.
The French-born Algerian has maintained her form this year, winning gold medals in three of the four World Cup events (in Cottbus, Baku and Doha) and heads into her first Olympics as favorite for the uneven bars title.
If she makes the podium in Paris, she will become the first African or Arab gymnast to win an Olympic medal in gymnastics.
“What she does is beautiful,” the reigning Olympic uneven bars champion, Nina Derwall, was quoted as saying by sporza.be. “I don't think anyone in Paris will take the gold from him.”
The women's qualification in artistic gymnastics will begin on July 28 in Paris with the uneven bars final scheduled for August 4.
Dunya Aboutaleb (Saudi Arabia) – Taekwondo
The first Saudi Arabian woman to qualify directly for the Olympics without the need for a special invitation or wildcard is looking to further cement her name in the history books by making the podium at the -49kg taekwondo competition in Paris this summer.
Dunya Aboutaleb burst onto the scene when she won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Taekwondo Championships in Guadalajara.
She grew up training with boys and covering her hair with a scarf or hat to blend in with the opposite sex, as there was no training for girls in taekwondo in Saudi Arabia.
Kurban Bogdaev, now 27 and coached by Kurban Bogdaev who helped Tunisia's Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi to a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has high hopes from Paris.
“As the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics, I have reached the stage of kill or be killed,” Aboutaleb told AFP. “I've reached a point where I have to achieve something.”
Aboutaleb's 49 kg competition in the Olympics will be held on August 7.
Ray Basil (Lebanon) – Shooting
Former world No. 1 trap shooter and current Asian champion, Ray Basil has her eyes firmly set on the podium at her fourth Olympics this month.
Basil, 35, won gold at the World Cup in Baku two months ago, which has boosted her confidence ahead of action in Paris.
“For me, it's special because it brings back a lot of confidence. And to evaluate all my training from the beginning of the year until today. I'm very happy that my work paid off,” she said in an interview with the International Shooting Sports Federation.
“I really hope it will be a good kick-off for the Olympics. It's just a step forward.”
Women's net qualifying for the Olympics will begin on July 30.
Fatima Ezahra Gardadi (Morocco) – Athletics
Fatima Azahra Gardai's rapid rise in the marathon world has been nothing short of remarkable.
The 32-year-old Moroccan was originally a runner in the 5km, 10km and half marathon distances but switched to the full marathon in 2019.
She won her debut marathon in Marrakesh in 2022, breaking the course record in the process.
Garadi then made history at last year's World Athletics Championships in Budapest when she won bronze to become the first Moroccan or Arab woman to win a world championship medal in the marathon. This ensured her qualification for the Paris Olympics.
Garadi did not slow down this year. She finished eighth at the prestigious Boston Marathon in April with a 2:24:53 before running a personal-best of 2:24:12 at the Xiamen Marathon in China in January.
Guardadi will make her Olympic debut in Paris, where she hopes to become Morocco's first female medalist since 2008.
The women's marathon at the Paris Olympics is scheduled for August 11.
