Arab sports representatives surprise at Tokyo Olympic Games
With one day to go until the end of the Tokyo Olympics, the Arab countries' participation in the competition has been unfavourable compared to previous events. Whereas in Rio 2016 the delegations from North Africa and the Middle East amassed a total of 27 medals, the Arab athletes managed just 20 podiums in the Japanese capital. On this occasion, the Turkish delegation was the most successful with six medals, including one gold and five bronze medals. Iran and Egypt, with four and three medals each, respectively, followed in the Persian wake. Qatar and Tunisia, with two, and Morocco, Jordan and Egypt, with one, rounded off the regional medal tally.
Despite the modest results, the Arab representatives provided some of the highlights of the competition that will go down in history. The Olympic event has also served to record the names of those athletes who have managed to break into the top three in their category against all odds or, in other cases, far exceeded the expectations placed on them. But who are they and what lies behind their medals?
"Can we have two golds?" asked Mutaz Essa Barshim to the competition judge, as if possessed by the Olympic spirit. "It's possible if you decide," he replied. It only took one look to bring the Qatari jumper into agreement with his rival and friend, Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi. "I look at him, he looks at me and we know. We just look at each other and we know, that's all," said Barshim. They melted into an embrace for the ages. The two competitors shared a gold for the first time in athletics, in the high jump. All this after two hours of a competition that seemed to go on forever. One jumped the mark, the other surpassed it. And so on and so forth. The tie became perennial before the 2.39 mark was surpassed. Then they gave up the tie-breaker and split the gold.
The event soon caught the attention of the fans. Many applauded the behaviour of the jumpers; others missed a life-and-death battle for the final victory. "That's what the Olympics are all about," they said. In any case, Mutaz Essa Barshim, enshrined in the elite, did not need to prove anything to anyone. The Doha athlete has been on an upward progression at the Olympic Games, culminating in gold in Tokyo. At London 2012 he won bronze; at Rio 2016, silver. Japan has elevated him as the world's best high jumper, a shared but no less valuable label. Or is it?
Among a long list of trophies, he has two world titles to his name, won in 2017 and 2019. And if that wasn't enough, he holds the second best world record of all time (2.43), an Asian record. But it wasn't always so easy: "Until I was 17, I was always the worst. There were a lot of people in my group who were much better than me. I never felt I was anyone special. But my father always told me 'Keep doing what you do, work hard, be patient. That's what will make the difference," the athlete told Sport360, "So I just kept going, no matter what. Of Sudanese descent, Barshim didn't let up and time has reciprocated. Today, he is one of Qatar's heroes.
Tunisian novice swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui became Africa's first Olympic gold medallist after taking the top step of the podium against all odds after beating the two favourites in the 400m freestyle. Despite starting from the outside lane number eight, the worst position in the pool, he pulled off an epic comeback to leave the spectators in awe. Even he didn't count on winning and it took him a few seconds to react and realise his victory. As soon as he knew it, he burst into jubilation. He screamed, climbed onto the corkboard and hit the water in anger. Completely unsettled, he struggled to realise his achievement. Nobody was betting on him.
"When I saw my country's flag being raised and heard the national anthem, it brought tears to my eyes. I felt very proud," he said. Afterwards, Hafnaoui dedicated his victory to the Tunisian nation. A nation that has seen him grow as a sportsman. The son of basketball player and Tunisian national team member Mohamed Hafnaoui, the young man chose swimming thanks to his father. "He told me to try swimming because it's good for your health and for strengthening your body," he explained. He is now the star of one of Tunisia's greatest sporting achievements and has a promising career ahead of him.
The lanky runner from Fez inherited the sceptre from historic runner Hicham El Guerrouj and won the title in Tokyo. He ended the Kenyan dominance in the 3000m steeplechase to win Morocco's first Olympic gold in 17 years. El Bakkali came from behind in the final stretch of the race to cross the finish line in 8:08.90, a long way clear of the chasing pack.
When he was just a teenager, he entered the Mohammed VI International Academy in Ifrane after being selected by the athletics section of the Club de Campo in his home town in a test of 3,600 youngsters from the working-class neighbourhood of El Merja. At the age of 20, the runner came close to standing on the podium at Rio 2016. He came up just short and managed a fourth-place finish, however, this time success has smiled on him with gold after winning silver at the 2017 World Championships and bronze in 2019.
The champion in the men's 10m air pistol final, Javad Foroughi, stood on the podium at the age of 41 to open Iran's Tokyo Games account. The Persian shooter, a nurse by profession, won gold after breaking the Olympic record in his first appearance at an event of this calibre. The importance of the title for his country, Iran, was reflected in congratulations from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself, who even called Foroughi to congratulate him. However, his victory has not been without controversy. United for Navid, a group formed by Iranian activists and athletes to combat the oppression of the Shiite regime, revealed the shooter's membership of the Revolutionary Guard, a body classified by Washington as a terrorist organisation, and demanded the withdrawal of the trophy.
The Iranian "is a current and veteran member of a terrorist organisation. Specifically, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has a history of violence and killing not only Iranians and protesters there, but also innocent people in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon," the organisation said in a statement. The military force, the third largest power centre in Tehran, runs the hospital where Foroughi works. The organisation wrote to the IOC earlier this year and warned them about the possible presence of military and even political figures acting as Iran's sports representatives. "IOC officials never took any action," the group said.
At the age of just 22, goalkeeper Mete Gazoz won Turkey's only Olympic gold at the Tokyo event. He is the first Turkish representative to do so. The Ottoman beat Italy's Mauro Nespoli 4-6 to win the individual archery competition, earlier defeating Japanese archer Takaharu Furukawa. The welcome on his arrival at Istanbul airport was on a par with national heroes, and amid cheers and applause he wanted to send a message of faith and effort to young people, but he made it clear beforehand that he is "too young to be a role model or an icon. I may have won a gold medal, but it's nothing to be a role model. I can only give advice to friends who are younger than me.
The Palestinian-born Jordanian taekwondist made history and claimed his country's second ever Olympic medal after Ahmad Abughaush at Rio 2016 in the same discipline. His compatriot took gold; El-Sharabati had to settle for silver after losing to his rival and friend, Maxim Khramtsov. "In Paris I want the gold," he said after the bout.
The 57-year-old Kuwaiti shooter snuck onto the podium with a bronze in the men's skeet category. Having competed in five previous Olympic events, his debut coming at Atlanta 96, Al-Rashidi equalled his Rio 2016 record. This year he again competed for Kuwait, unlike at the last Olympics. The IOC banned the country's participation because of the Kuwaiti government's interference in the national sport, so Al-Rashidi bit bronze as an independent athlete. In Tokyo, he has finally done so representing his nation.