Sporting scandals have a way of snowballing, and cyclist Shahd Saeed’s story has stirred not only Egypt but the world.
She became known as the cyclist who shoved her competitor, Janna Eliwa, onto the pavement during the Egyptian Cycling Republic Championship—an act for which Eliwa claims Saeed never apologized. Since then, Saeed has faced major scrutiny.
That was then followed by even more scrutiny toward the Olympic Committee after the world discovered that Saeed had been selected to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
It all simmered down, though, when Saeed herself withdrew from the Paris 2024 Olympics and the committee no longer accepted her participation.
Being such a controversial figure of 2024, we wanted to take a dive into who she is, what her life was like before the incident, and what is expected in her future:
Life Before
The 19-year-old athlete loved and was passionate about cycling from a young age, which spurred her to take part in the sport by joining the Fayoum Sporting Club. A string of transitions then followed as she ended up changing clubs and heading to the 6 October Club, followed by her final club, the Suez Sporting Club.
As an athlete, she had a natural talent and knack for cycling as she joined Egypt’s national under-18 cycling team and participated in the 2023 African Continental Cycling Championships, advancing 3 positions in the competition.
As a national cycling athlete, after winning first place in more than one competition, she managed to climb up the ranks and earn a high ranking among her cycling peers. Winning so many competitions and rising to the top injected in the athlete a sort of dependence and active pursuit of winning.
The Incident
Back in April, during the Egyptian Cycling Republic Championship, there Saeed was, atop her bike, determined to win at any cost, especially after losing the individual and team competitions to Eliwa’s team the day before; she couldn’t afford another loss.
On the day after, just before reaching the finish line of the 50km race, Saeed sped up her pace, got behind Eliwa and ended up pulling her down from her bike. The end result was that Eliwa suffered a concussion, several fractures and bruises, as well as memory loss. “I had exams during the time, I didn’t even remember I had exams,” said Eliwa.
What’s Next
One of the worst consequences for an athlete is being banned from practicing the sport that they love, and that was the case for Saeed. The Egyptian Olympic Committee officially declared that Saeed is not allowed to take part in the Olympics, a decision that was imposed by the national cycling federation.
“Shahd Saeed is not eligible to participate in any international competition … due to her one-year suspension until 26 April 2025,” the EOC statement said. That means there are no international competitions for Saeed for the upcoming year.
Such a controversy in the sporting world is not uncommon. If you follow ice skating competitions in America, then you’ll know about the scandal of Tonya Harding, who was alleged to have attacked her fellow U.S. skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan. The story circulated so much that they decided to make a film out of it.
Saeed and Eliwa’s story also gained such prominence that it was covered by every Egyptian publication, as well as major UK publications like the BBC. As the year progresses, more details will emerge about Saeed and the future of her sporting career.