DOHA, QATAR – Leading talents from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are in France this month preparing to compete in the ongoing Olympic Games Paris 2024 and showcasing their skills on a global stage. Numerous Arab athletes have qualified across a variety of disciplines, with two Arab athletes having already won medals in fencing, including Tunisia’s Fares Ferjani who took silver in the Men’s Individual Sabre final, and Egypt’s Mohamed El-Sayed earning bronze in the Men’s Epee Individual event.

The Olympic Games Paris 2024, which started on 26 July and will run until 11 August, are being broadcast live and exclusive in the MENA region on beIN SPORTS across 17 dedicated channels, ensuring viewers can catch every moment of the action in high definition. To complement the live broadcasts, the network has also produced several original docuseries delving into the inspiring stories of Arab participants at the Olympics.

Over the next two weeks, some of the region’s most promising participants are shaping up for a shot at Gold alongside the world’s elite.

Mutaz Essa Barshim, Qatar

Defending Olympic champion and high jump sensation Mutaz Essa Barshim is aiming for back-to-back golds after securing back-to-back silvers in London and Rio. Following his unforgettable Tokyo 2020 performance, Mutaz is one of Qatar’s most celebrated athletes and has set the stage for what could be a legendary moment in Paris. The 33-year-old’s quest to cement his legacy as the greatest high jumper of all-time is something the entire Arab World should be eagerly anticipating. Qatar’s delegation to Paris also includes another Olympic gold medallist in the form of weightlifter Fares El-Bakh, as well as participants in athletics, shooting, beach volleyball, and swimming. Men’s High-Jump Finals will take place on 10 August.

Sara Ahmed, Egypt

The delegation Egypt has sent to this year’s Olympic Games is the largest to ever come from both the Middle East or Africa, comprising 164 athletes across 22 sports including football, volleyball, gymnastics, and swimming. Among the medal hopefuls are weightlifter Sara Ahmed, a 2023 World Champion and Rio 2016 bronze medallist, who is competing in the 81kg category, and Ahmed El-Gendy, who took silver at Tokyo 2020 in Modern Pentathlon, a multi-disciplinary event made up of pistol shooting, fencing freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a cross-country run. Weightlifting competitions will be held on 7 August.

Safiya Al Sayegh, UAE

The 22-year-old is set to make history as the first female cyclist from the Emirates to compete at the Olympics. Al Sayegh, who has already become the country’s first professional female cyclist and signed with a women’s UCI World Team, will compete in the 158km Women’s Elite Road Race. A trailblazer for Emirati women in sport, she has also won the National Road Championships in each of the past three years. Besides Al Sayegh, the UAE will have at least 14 participants across equestrian, swimming, athletics, and judo. Al Sayegh will compete on 4 August.

Benjamin Hassan, Lebanon

Another Olympic debutant from the Arab World is Benjamin Hassan, who has already made history by becoming the first Lebanese tennis player to win a match at the Olympics on Sunday after defeating former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks in straight sets, in Lebanon’s first involvement in Olympic tennis. The country is being represented by at least 10 other athletes across various disciplines, including trap shooter Ray Bassil, and taekwondo practitioner Laetitia Aoun. Men's Singles Tennis gold medal match will take place on 4 August.

Julyana Al-Sadeq, Jordan

Jordan also has a taekwondo star amid their delegation. Julyana Al-Sadeq arrived in Paris with her sights set on gold having become the first Arab woman to top the world rankings. With a World Championship silver and an Asian Games gold under her belt in the 67kg category, she hopes to make history as Jordan’s first Olympic taekwondo medallist. Known for her strategic mind and relentless attacks, Al-Sadeq has already broken barriers for Arab women in taekwondo. Jordan was also represented in gymnastics, with Ahmad Abu Al Soud becoming the first Jordanian gymnast to reach the Olympics and is represented by a host of athletes currently in Paris who will be competing across numerous disciplines. Taekwondo competitions for various age divisions will run from 7 to 10 August.

Dunia Abutaleb, Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile Saudi Arabia’s Dunia Abutaleb, competing in the 49kg taekwondo category, has made headlines as the first female from the Kingdom to earn direct Olympic qualification. Her achievements include a bronze medal at both the Asian and World levels, marking her out as far more than just a gender barrier-breaker. Yet Abutaleb’s qualification is a significant milestone for Saudi women in sports and she heads into the Olympics on the back of five event wins in 2024, including gold at 2024 Asian Championships in Vietnam. The Kingdom will be represented by at least nine athletes – six men and three women – across four sports: athletics, equestrian, swimming, and taekwondo. Taekwondo competitions for various age divisions will run from 7 to 10 August.

Among other notable talents from the region are Tunisian runner Marwa Bouzayani, who will compete in the 3,000-metre steeplechase. Morocco will also provide one of four Arab participants taking part in the inaugural inclusion of break-dancing – the Olympics’ newest sport – with the other three coming from Algeria.

To catch all the action and follow the dozens of athletes from the region live, viewers can tune into beIN SPORTS, which is exclusively broadcasting the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with commentary in both Arabic and English. For a full guide to beIN’s Olympics programming, visit www.bein.com/en/tv-guide. 

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