Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi hosted a special event in Paris to recognize the achievements of athletes Ahmed El-Gendy and Sara Samir, who secured gold and silver medals in the Paris Olympics.
The event, which took place on Saturday, was attended by the Egyptian Ambassador in Paris, Alaa Youssef, the Secretary General of the Olympic Committee, Sherif El-Aryan, and leaders of various sports federations. Sobhi extended his congratulations to Elgendy for clinching Egypt’s inaugural gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games in the Modern Pentathlon.
The 24-year-old, who previously won a silver medal at Tokyo 2020, established a new world record with 1,555 points, surpassing the previous record of 1,551 set by Csaba Bohm of Hungary in June.
The minister extended his congratulations to weightlifting star Sara Ahmed Samir for clinching a silver medal in the 81kg Women’s Final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She managed to lift a total of 268kg, with 117 kilograms in the snatch and 151 kilograms in the clean and jerk, surpassing her previous record of 148kg, which was achieved at the 2022 World Championships in Colombia.
He expressed gratitude to the political leadership for their consistent support of Egyptian sports, stating that today’s achievements will bolster Egypt’s standing on the global sports stage.
He mentioned that this achievement demonstrated the capability of Egyptian athletes to compete at an international level. He emphasized the significance of sustained support for Egyptian sports to attain further achievements in the future.
Yasser Idris, the Head of the Olympic Committee, praised the committee’s decision allowing Elgendy and Samir to carry Egypt’s flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. He explained that Egypt’s Liverpool player Mohamed Salah was originally designated to carry the flag if he was leading the country’s Olympic football team.
