Meet Egyptian female athletes on IWD

CAIRO – 8 March 2018: The world celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 which is a time to reflect on the progress made, call for change and celebrate the determination of women who have shaped history.

Despite struggles, Egyptian women proved that they are able to have their names shine in sports.

Egypt Today presents the most successful women figures that have shined in sports courts.


Farida Osman - Egypt Today/Yasmine Hassan


At the beginning of 2017, Farida Osman, nicknamed the Golden Fish, was the first ever Egyptian to claim a medal in the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships, held in August 2017.

Egyptian swimmer Farida Osman has won the award for the best athlete in Africa after her tremendous effort over the past years.

The 22-year-old started swimming at four years old. At 11, she participated in her first national championship, where she won four gold medals. A year later, she represented Egypt in the African league and has been a national source of pride since then.


2016 Rio Olympics - Taekwondo -Women's -57kg Victory Ceremony - Carioca Arena 3 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 18/08/2016.Hedaya Malak Wahba (EGY) of Egypt celebrates on the podium with her bronze medals. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

Hedaya Malak snatched the 67-kilogram silver medal in the 13th Tournoi International de Paris (French Open) - World Taekwondo. This was after she won a bronze medal at Rio 2016 Olympic Games, after beating Belgium’s Raheleh Asemani in the women’s 57-kilogram Taekwondo event.


Yara Shalaby on the Kayak – Nile Kayak Club official account on Facebook


On November 30, Yara Shalaby led a team of 15 Kayakers across the Gulf of Aqaba. The challenge took them from Sinai to Jordan and back, for a total distance of 42 kilometres.

Entering the world of rally racing four years ago, Shalaby has already made a mark in the field; she won the first position in the amateur category of the 2014 Pharaohs International Cross Country Rally, and the second overall position. She has also won the second position in the amateur categories of the 2013 El-Remaly Desert Challenge and the 2014 El-Gouna Rally Cup.

Yara Shalaby, 33, has become the first professional female rally driver in the country, winning several races out of 25. She is overcoming stereotypes by proving her talent as a skilled and successful racer in Egypt.



Ibtisam Zayed was crowned with two gold medals for Egypt in the African Cycling Championship. She raised the Egyptian flag when she won the gold medal at the Arab Championship 2017.

Abeer Abd El-Rahman became the first Egyptian woman to win an Olympic medal after achieving the Olympic Games Beijing’s 2008 bronze medal and London’s 2012 silver medal when her opponents were banned for a doping offence.



Sara Samir - REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov


Egypt's weightlifter Sara Samir copped the gold medal in the International World Federation (IWF) World Championships in Anaheim, California.




FILE – Egyptian weightlifter Shaymaa Khalaf


National team weightlifter Shaymaa Khalaf won the silver medal of the snatch competitions in the 90+ kilograms category in the Weightlifting World Championship. The championship was held in the United States.

Al-Ahly’s Table-Tennis Women team topped the African continent after achieving the Africa Club Championship title by beating the Nigerian side Canaan Queens in the final.


Nour El Sherbini - FILE

Nour El Sherbini, the youngest ever women’s squash world champion, successfully defended her title after winning the Women’s World Championship held in Gouna. El Sherbini had won the world champion title as a junior in 2009 and then again in 2016.


Dubai Raneem el-Welily - Nouran Gohar - courtesy of PSA world tour website

Raneem el-Welily was crowned with the title after she beat Nour el-Sherbiny (3-1), ranked first worldwide, on Sunday.

Yasmin Hamdy won the karate golden medal and Rawya Hassan the 75-kilogram weightlifting gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games held in Azerbaijan.


Sarah Essam with Stoke City’s jersey – Stoke City official website


For the first time in the history, a female Egyptian football player is joining the FA Women’s Premier League.

Eighteen-year-old Sarah Essam joined the Stoke City Ladies football club to be the first Egyptian woman to play in the UK as a professional football player.

She played for Egypt’s national team during the African Cup qualifiers at the age of 16 and signed for Stoke City at age 18.