By Muhammed Aladdin
Thursday, March 21, marks the end of the 2019 Abu Dhabi Special Olympics. In a message of empowerment, athletes from all corners of the earth, and for seven straight days, competed in a varying number of sports to prove their prowess. All 197 countries gave their best efforts, however, as of this day, Egypt is shattering expectations winning a total of 26 medals.
The Egyptian delegation consisting of 34 male athletes and 35 female athletes competed in 14 sports including swimming, cycling, weight lifting, basketball, football, horse riding, bowling, badminton, table tennis, tennis, gymnastics, athletics, roller skating, and bocce.
In a mind-boggling victory, the Egyptian gymnastic team has claimed three gold, six silver, and two bronze medals, amounting to 15 in total. The win would not have been possible without Athlete Youssef Khaled who ranked fourth, claiming two gold medals and a silver one. Furthermore, the noteworthy effort of Nour El-Din Hassan has earned her one gold, three silver, and one bronze medals.
Aya El-Sayed, an Egyptian Gymnast, ranked fifth and won herself two silver and one bronze medals. It does not stop here, for Dina Tarek has made all of Egypt proud winning one silver and three bronze medals.
In athletics, Egypt’s presence has been stronger than ever with our very own Heba Magdy claiming the gold medal for the 200-meter race, while Hend Khedr finished the fifth.
As for our equestrians, Ahmed El-Gendy has proven Egyptian horsemanship, winning a gold medal. On the other hand, Nayera Essam, in the females’ category, has claimed the silver medal followed by Mariam Azeb who came in third earning herself a bronze one.
In tennis, both male and female pairs have made gold, while Fatma Abdelfattah has overwhelmed the competition in table tennis, coming in first with a gold medal as well.
Eman El-Sayed won Egypt a bronze medal in the 2-kilometer cycling race, while in swimming, Hadeel Fouad won the fourth place in a 50-meter race, followed by Nada Alaa who claimed the seventh place.
Egypt’s glory does not end here, as our national team won against the Emiratis 6-3 in determining five-a-side football match.
In today’s world, many of those with special needs struggle unnoticed and forgotten; it seems that society unconsciously ostracizes them. However, the Egyptian delegation in Abu Dhabi has just proven that they can do anything, empowering hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities and their parents.
Hopefully, in the upcoming years, the gigantic efforts of these athletes will help end some of the stigma surrounding disability.
WE SAID THIS: Champions, congratulations and thank you for making Egypt proud!