 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
 |
 |
|
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
|
|
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Interview Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Elixir of champions
By Eman Abdel-MoetiIn early April, the Weightlifting Federation will hold a press conference which seems innocuous enough. Officials will discuss preparations being made for the Arab and African Juniors Championships to be held in Cairo from 9-15 April. But in this particular gathering, the federation will also unveil the secret behind the recent improvement in the stamina and power of its players. For the past six months, the junior national team has shown a steady improvement in its performances and not coincidentally, the standard has risen ever since the federation recruited a certain Mohamed Said El-Hefnawi, a professor of drugs and natural essences at Cairo University's Faculty of Pharmacology. El-Hefnawi, who has been working for several years on a nutritional formula that would enhance athletic performance, has managed to put together a natural formula based on natural nutrients. "I have been working on this research project aimed at forming a natural substitute for steroids for strength training," El-Hefnawi told the Weekly. "I was successful in doing so, and now we are putting it to the test." El-Hefnawi's concoction grew out of the crisis in drug abuse in the world of sports. "Steroids are today's biggest threat to our athletes' well being," Gamil Hanna, manager of the Weightlifting Federation, said. Thus the idea of finding a natural substitute for steroids that would have the same effect but does not contain any chemicals or internationally-banned substances, became a necessity. That's when the federation decided to recruit a specialist in natural foods who could create a formula for the national team that would allow its players to do bigger and better things. Hanna said that ever since two of Egypt's weightlifters were tested positive and banned from international competition in 1993, the federation had come up with a strict programme designed to combat steroid use among weightlifters throughout the country. Besides the punishment already meted out by the International Weightlifting Federation to weightlifters who test positive, the Egyptian Federation has added even more punitive measures in its domestic tournaments. Throughout the year, members of the national team are subjected to random tests. Those who test positive are either suspended from competition for two years or, depending on the severity of the case, banned permanently. The intention behind El-Hefnawi's creation was that if such a formula worked as a performance-enhancing nutrient, it would become popular among weightlifters who would then automatically stop searching for new steroids on the market. "We found that the best countries in weightlifting, like China, give their players essences extracted from natural herbs in order to enhance their power and endurance," Hanna said. "So we decided to apply almost the same idea with some modifications. We give our players natural nutrients, not just essences extracted from herbs." El-Hefnawi said that in Egyptian popular foods, there are quite a few things that act as performance-enhancing nutrients, but only if they are compiled in a certain way and in a carefully designed diet. He mentioned honey as a popular nutrient known to give energy and power, adding that the amount of energy in honey depends on its quality and how, when and where it is extracted from. How safe is the formula? "There are absolutely no chemicals in it at all, and it has no side effects," El-Hefnawi said confidently. Although he refused to divulge the ingredients used in his formula, he did say it was composed of nutrients that have high quantities of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. He added he had also come up with a 'warm-up' snack to be taken before training. "The warm-up snack helps the cardiovascular system and heightens the senses of the neurological system," El-Hefnawi said. The coming Arab and African Championships could be a milestone in the history of Egyptian weightlifting if El-Hefnawi's elixir induces significant improvement in performance. Even if it doesn't, no harm will be done because, as El-Hefnawi has repeatedly stressed, it has no side effects; it's all natural stuff.
