Mariam Khaled Ahmed

   Unusual, unexpected ending of the Paris 2024 Olympics, especially for the Egyptians, after all these losses, 2 Olympic medals were the Egyptians’ share. A silver medal won by Sara Samir, the weightlifter who lifted 268 kg in the women’s 81 kg event, after few hours our champion Ahmed Elgendy, modern pentathlon player, won the golden medal and broke the world record which was the perfect ending.

Let us not forget our first Olympic medal in Paris 2024 was for Mohamed Elsayed, the fencing player who won the bronze medal after a nerve-wracking match. 

All these achievements we were aware of them, but what about those who lose, every single one have a story that deserves to be told and focused on.

 Omar Assar is a table tennis player who outperforming himself and reached the quarterfinals after eliminating the Kazakhstan champion in a nerve-racking match. This was the second time in a row that he qualified for the round of 8 after previously qualifying at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he also moved to 5th  place after being ranked 8th previously. He is the first Arab and African player to achieve these achievements.

 Malak Ismail, the 19-year-old modern pentathlon player qualified for the Paris Olympics after winning the gold medal in the African Championship final held in Egypt. She achieved the 12th place after qualifying for the finals, and this is considered an achievement that should be appreciated given her young age, also she is promising a bright future in the upcoming Olympic Games to achieve an Olympic medal. 

 There are also people who did their best in this Olympic session, some of whom were participating in the Olympics for the first time in their lives, such as Aya Shehata, the taekwondo player who qualified for the quarter-finals, as well as Muhannad Shaaban, the modern pentathlon player who qualified for the finals but was not lucky with his horse, which caused him to lose due to his sudden stoppage of running. 

These athletes, both male and female, have faced a lot of criticism and lack of appreciation from the people who are ignorant of their hard work and suffering over the past years and say and evaluate their technical performance negatively and that they are wasting the financial support from the state and that “there is no benefit from them.” This leads - whether ignorantly or intentionally - to affecting the psychology of the athletes, which frustrates them and affects their performance in matches.

But not all of them accept criticism, like Omar Assar when he defended himself and said that he conducts his training and pays the coach`s fees from his own money and that there is no financial support from the state that reaches us from the federation. Immediately, an investigation was opened by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to investigate this incident and the rest of the sports federations. This is one of many stories that indicate that there is a defect in the performance of the federations towards the athletes and in their technical and psychological preparation, which affects their performance in tournaments in general.

The solutions are simple: First: The federations must reform themselves and realize the mistakes that were made, such as not developing a plan and strategy to prepare for the Olympics. This indicates a lack of sufficient preparation to qualify athletes at the highest level. All officials in the federations must be held accountable. Second: The federations must provide psychological rehabilitation for athletes because it is a fundamental pillar in improving their performance and their ability to complete matches with determination and will and not shake their self-confidence. Third and finally: Moral support from the people makes a difference in shaping the identity of the athlete and pushes him forward always. Attention must be paid to providing all support and encouragement to everyone who tries to achieve success and avoid the frustration and pessimism that harm the athlete`s psyche.

All these factors help build a suitable environment for creating and preparing competitive global athletes who only need to be highlighted, cared for and appreciated because we have exceptional talents that deserve attention and consideration to achieve a better sporting future.