DUBAI: Athletes representing Arab countries have won an unprecedented seven gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which concluded on Sunday with a spectacular closing ceremony at the Stade de France.
The Arab contingent in Paris provided many memorable moments, and not just from those who finished on the podium: some of the near-fights were equally inspiring.
We saw Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam give it his all during the third round of the competition, against Brazilian Joao Chianca, getting an incredible 9.70 on one of his waves and still leaving the competition in tears.
There was also heartbreak for Rama Abo-Alrub of Jordan, who came so close to defeating top seed Nafia Kus Aydin in the +67kg taekwondo quarterfinals. The 23-year-old's tears were incredibly moving and showed the depth of her belief that she could pull off an upset.
In the pool, Tunisian Ahmed Jaouadi narrowly missed out on the podium in the 800 meters, finishing fourth in a large field. The 19-year-old impressed in all three distances he swam and will undoubtedly be one to watch in the future.
Before we officially say goodbye to the Paris Olympics, here are 10 particularly special moments that saw Arab athletes as protagonists during the 2024 Games.
Elgendy's Record Gold
What could be better than becoming the first African to win an Olympic medal in his sport? Returning to the Olympics three years later and winning gold with a record-breaking performance, of course.
After taking silver in the modern pentathlon in Tokyo, Egypt's Ahmed Elgendy went one better, topping the podium in Versailles on Saturday and setting a new modern pentathlon world record of 1,555 points.
The 24-year-old ran to hug his mother on the sidelines after securing Egypt's only gold at the Paris Olympics. He was the first man from his country to win more than one Olympic medal since Karam Gaber won silver in freestyle wrestling in 2012, in addition to the gold he won in 2004.
Nemour Makes History for Africa
Also representing Africa and Arab sports is French-Algerian Kaylia Nemour, who became the first gymnast from the African continent to win an Olympic medal, taking gold on the uneven bars in artistic gymnastics.
The 17-year-old, born in France, was near flawless in her breathtaking parallel bars routine, which earned her a whopping score of 15.70 in the final.
Nemour also performed well in the all-around, reaching 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 won by Imane Khelif, who triumphed in the 66kg category to become the first Arab or African boxer to stand on the Olympic podium.
The 25-year-old endured an unimaginable amount of injustice, scrutiny, and online harassment during her time in Paris. She was treated poorly and disrespected by many, but somehow she managed to overcome it all as she stormed to victory and took home the gold. She showed grace in every interview she gave and claimed that her success had brought her honor back and was the perfect answer to those who had attacked her.
Palestinian athletes display flag
Eight Palestinian athletes competed at Paris 2024, all united by one mission: to raise the flag of their country, shine a light on the horrors unfolding in Gaza, and provide a voice and a platform for their people back home.
“For us to just ignore what's happening is not an option,” Valeria Tarazi, who swam in the heats of the 200 IM, told ABC News. “We're affected by this every single day of our lives and it's absolutely our responsibility to speak up about what's happening. And we're not here to be politicians, but we're here to tell our stories.
“Sports have given me more than I could ever ask for. But my job as an Olympian here is not to play my sport, get high 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 Sunday's closing ceremony and paraded around the stadium wearing the traditional keffiyeh headdress and once again waving their nation's flag.
Hafez shocks the world by announcing her pregnancy
Egypt's Nada Hafez reached the round of 16 in sabre fencing by defeating No. 7 seed Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the United States, before exiting the competition following a loss to South Korea's Jeon Hayoung.
Her impressive performance didn’t seem particularly out of the ordinary, but shortly after her loss, Hafez made a stunning announcement on her Instagram page, saying she competed despite being seven months pregnant.
The 26-year-old quickly became one of the most talked-about athletes of the Games, as she demonstrated how limitless we can be as human beings and reminded everyone to never underestimate the power of women.
Morocco and Egypt reach football semi-finals
Not one, but two Arab teams reached the semi-finals of the football competition, with Morocco taking bronze and Egypt finishing in fourth place.
The Atlas Lions began their Olympic campaign with a landslide victory over Argentina and finished it off by scoring 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 was the first player in Olympic history to score in six consecutive games.
Egypt's run at the Games ended in defeat, but the Pharaohs impressed on their way to the bronze medal match, defeating eventual champions Spain in the group stage and giving France a run for their money in the semi-finals.
Barshim cements high jump legacy
Qatari Mutaz Barshim closed the final chapter of 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 a gold medalist at Tokyo 2020, he made it to the podium for the fourth consecutive time at the Games by taking bronze at the Stade de France on Saturday.
The 33-year-old has 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 great strides in taekwondo, and Tunisian Firas Katoussi is the latest to join the region’s growing list of champions.
The 28-year-old was nearly untouchable in all of his bouts, winning gold in the -80kg event and then dancing with joy in celebration in the heart of the Grand Palais.
Jordan's Zaid Kareem took silver in the -68kg category, while Tunisia's Mohammed Khalil Jendoubi added bronze in the -58kg category to his Tokyo 2020 silver medal.
Samir wins second Olympic medal of his career
Sara Samir was shocked not to win gold, but she still had a lot to be proud of, having won a second Olympic medal, after 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, only to be broken again by Norwegian gold medalist Solfrid Koanda, before taking silver with 268kg.
Samir is one of only three Egyptian women to have won more than one Olympic medal.
El-Bakkali defends title
Towards the end of the race she looked to be in a difficult position, but Moroccan runner Soufiane El-Bakkali managed to carve out enough space to take the lead and successfully defend her 3,000m steeplechase gold medal with a season-best time of 8 minutes and 6.05 seconds.
In the women's steeplechase, Bahrain's Winfred Yavi set a new Olympic record, winning gold in a time of 8:52.76, the fourth-fastest ever in the event.
