By: Al-Zahraa Rashad

The year 2025 witnessed an extraordinary surge in Egyptian athletic excellence across various disciplines. Egyptian champions secured numerous international titles and podium finishes in gymnastics, swimming, rowing, and tennis. The year also saw the remarkable rise of Basant Hemida in athletics, while Egypt successfully hosted a slew of world championships and won the bids to organize several major events for 2026. This report details the highlights of a historic year.

Global Milestones in Gymnastics
Egyptian gymnastics achieved a major breakthrough, winning 5 medals (2 gold, 3 bronze) at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup for men and women, hosted by Egypt in April. Omar El-Araby clinched gold on the parallel bars, while Jana Mahmoud took gold in the floor exercise. Joudi Abdalla earned two bronze medals (vault and parallel bars), and El-Araby added a bronze on the rings.

At the junior level, Farida Bahnassey and Lina Helika secured silver medals in the clubs and ribbon events, respectively, at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships.

A historic highlight of 2025 was Joudi Ayman Gohar receiving a scholarship to the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) following her stellar World Cup performance. Gohar, a rising star and former Arab champion, became the first Egyptian gymnast to join a top-tier U.S. collegiate program while continuing her preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Al-Alamein Dominates Finswimming
Egypt topped the medal table at the World Finswimming Open Water Championships in Al-Alamein (October 2025), amassing 31 medals (11 gold, 7 silver, 13 bronze). Notable performances included Walid Zayed’s gold in the Masters category, Yassin Mohamed’s gold in the 5km junior mono-fin, and Joudi Reda’s silver in the junior girls` category.

Silver for Beach Rowing
The Egyptian Beach Rowing team made history by winning silver at the World Beach Rowing Championships in Antalya, Turkey. The duo Ali Hassan and Ayat Ibrahim clocked 2:38:49 in the mixed double sculls. Ali Hassan, a pioneer in the sport for Egypt, also secured African gold in South Africa earlier that year and holds the record for the highest global ranking by an Egyptian in the sport (5th place).

Tennis: Rising Stars and Established Icons
Mohamed Goneidi achieved an unprecedented feat for Egyptian and Arab tennis by winning the U-14 IMG Academy International (Eddie Herr) title in the U.S., defeating South American talent Ignacio Mejias. Meanwhile, Amr El-Asrawy was named ITF Player of the Month for October following his titles in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Mayar Sherif continued her dominance, winning the Villa de Madrid Open and the Parma International, maintaining her status as the most influential Arab player on the WTA tour.

Queens of the Track: Basant and Esraa
Basant Hemida enjoyed a stellar season, winning gold in the 400m indoor at the Karlsruhe International in Germany with a time of 51.97s. She added golds at the Lucca International (Italy) and Brescia (Italy), where she set a new meeting record of 22.91s in the 200m. Her time of 50.36s in the 400m ranked as the fourth-fastest in Africa for 2025, securing her qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo.

In the long jump, Esraa Owis made history at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as the first Egyptian woman to reach the long jump final. A record-breaker and former Mediterranean Games silver medalist, Owis solidified her place among the world’s elite with a global ranking of 11th this year.

University Sports: Global and Continental Success
At the 10th World University Championships in Spain, Egypt secured gold in both Volleyball and Basketball, alongside a haul of medals in swimming. The Taekwondo team also brought home silver from the Summer University Games in Germany. Looking ahead, Egypt has been awarded the hosting rights for the 2026 World University Finswimming Championship in Sharm El-Sheikh and the 2026 African University Games in Cairo.