After Winning the Position of Vice President of the Technical Committee at the International Gymnastics Federation…

Nehad Zayed: A Distinguished Representative of Egyptian Sports

By: Al-Zahraa Rashad

Nehad Zayed is considered one of the best artistic gymnastics judges in the world, and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) relies on her in international, continental, and Olympic championships.

She won the position of Vice President of the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee in the elections held in Antalya, Turkey, in November 2021, after receiving the highest number of votes.

Zayed received strong support from the Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports headed by Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, and from the Egyptian Gymnastics Federation headed by Dr. Ehab Amin, since she was nominated for membership in the FIG Technical Committee. Dr. Nehad Zayed is considered the first Egyptian woman to achieve this accomplishment in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.

 Nehad Zayed as an Artistic Gymnastics Judge at Paris 2024 Olympics

 Zayed participated as one of the judges in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

 Through the Egyptian Gymnastics Federation, headed by Dr. Ehab Amin, she contributed significantly to developing Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Egypt, making use of her international position to expand the sport’s participation base in recent years.

 She also earned the full confidence of the FIG officials and the Technical Committee during the 2023 World Championships in Belgium, which served as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

 The FIG appointed Nehad Zayed as the Technical Director of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, held in February 2024 in Germany, one of the events in the qualification series for Paris 2024.

  Zayed played a major role in the technical committees during international championships, where she was responsible for all technical matters—from drafting the international code of points and competition regulations, to preparing training courses, evaluating judges worldwide, and ensuring equipment compliance with international specifications before competitions begin.

The World Championships are among the key qualifying events for the Olympics, where gymnasts earn qualification spots. The role of the Technical Committee is to ensure that athletes who earn these spots fully meet the required criteria. The committee also evaluates judges after the World Championships and establishes the conditions for their qualification to officiate at the Olympics.

Zayed, along with Mohamed Ali Suleiman, also served on the judging panels at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, after being selected by the FIG Technical Committee .

Nehad Zayed continues to be recognized as one of the best artistic gymnastics judges worldwide, and the International Gymnastics Federation relies on her in international, continental, and Olympic tournaments.

Egyptian experts have recently earned distinguished positions within the FIG, reflecting the continued success of Egyptian gymnastics. Earlier, the FIG announced that Noha Abdel Wahab had been appointed—unopposed—as Chair of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee and member of the Executive Bureau before the federation’s elections