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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Brawn in action
By Eman Abdel-MoetiThe Arab and African juniors weightlifting championships are taking place from 9-15 April with both men and women vying for medals. The two championships, both taking place at Cairo's Police Academy in Manshiyet Al-Bakry, will also provide the backdrop for elections to the African and Arab federations.
Four men and four women from Egypt are among the sample group taking a nutritional formula which boosts power and performance. The potion was created by Mohamed Said Hefnawy, a university professor hired by the federation in January to help improve the team's standards. Although Egyptian Federation President Gameel Hanna refused to divulge the names of those who have been drinking the concoction, he predicted that, despite the tough competition, Egypt would win both titles "because our ambitions extend beyond such competitions... to world championships."
Egypt is participating with eight weightlifters in the men's division, the maximum number, and six women. Nagham Ramadan and Rabab Ashour are among the women expected to clinch gold medals in the 69kg and 53kg divisions respectively. From the men, Mohamed Tantawi in the 69kg weight category is expected to sweep the competition en route to the gold medal. Other team members are Abdullah Eid weighing in at 56kg, Hassan Omar weighing 62kg, Mahmoud Ahmed weighing 77kg, Ayman Abdel-Tawab weighing 85kg, Mohamed Mahruss weighing 94kg and Ahmed Mostafa weighing 105kg.
In addition to Ramadan and Ashour, the women's team includes Heba El-Sayed weighing 48kg, Amira Ibrahim weighing 58kg, Madiha Abdel-Moneim at 63kg and Amal Hamdi weighing 75kg.
Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, Kuwait, Libya and Jordan are participating in the Arab championship. The African tournament features Egypt, Cameroon, Uganda, Mauritius, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
According to Hanna, Egypt's toughest competition in the men's event of the African championship will come from Cameroon and Nigeria. Algeria and Tunisia will threaten in the women's event. In the Arab championship, he said Syria and Algeria will be tough to beat in the men's event, while Syria could rack up a few gold medals at the expense of Egypt's women.
Both championships are of crucial importance for Egypt's junior players since, on the basis of the results, some could be chosen to participate in the world junior championships to be held in the US from 1-15 July.
On the sidelines of both championships, elections for seats in the Arab Weightlifting Federation will take place on 10 April while the ballot box for the African Federation opens on 11 April. The former head of the Arab Federation, Malih Eliwan of Lebanon, is reportedly set to be re-elected president, but is facing tough competition from Syrian Mostafa Abu-Ageeb. From Egypt, Samir Hanna has already been appointed vice-president, while Gameel Hanna will remain secretary-general.
In the African Federation, Hanna will complete a triple tenure by remaining president while brother Samir has been appointed secretary-general. Mahmoud Shoukry from Egypt will remain head of the technical committee of the federation while Edmon Takla is to stay on as head of the physicians committee in both the African and Arab federations. .
