Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 5 - 11 October 2000 Issue No. 502
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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We came, we saw, we came back

Egypt's 290-strong delegation was one of the biggest not to win a single medal in Sydney. Participating in 18 events, players fell like flies, dominos, meteorites, a ton of bricks and a pack of cards. When they did stand, it was always aside, for others.

As in Barcelona and Atlanta, Rania Elwani caused hardly a ripple in the Sydney pool. The most successful swimmer the country has ever produced was treading water most of the time, coming 15th in the 50-metre freestyle and 11th in the 100-metre event.

A gold medal was supposedly in the bag in tae kwon do but tell that to Talaat Mabrouk who was bundled out after one match. Ali Ibrahim, who took sixth place in Atlanta, promised a better placing in 2000. But Ibrahim must have had his fingers crossed behind his back while making the pledge; he ended up 13th.

All three judoists were thrown out in the preliminaries. In boxing, the referee was forced to halt three matches to prevent further damage to Egyptian bodies and egos. Another boxer, Mohamed Fadil, suffered a double blow, losing his first bout and later testing positive.

Out of breath cyclists failed to complete their race. Gymnast Raouf Abdel-Kerim, gold medallist in the Mediterranean Games, would have won a medal -- if one had been given for finishing 34th.

Merah-Benida and the first and only Arab gold

The men's volleyball team lost all five matches and so could not be blamed for its elation for winning one set, against Holland.

Handballers saved face, coming in seventh out of 12. The team won five and lost five and in the opener came within one goal of tying eventual champions Russia.

Despite Egypt's no-show, five other Arab countries picked up the slack, winning 14 medals. Algeria finished atop the Arab medals table with five, including the region's sole gold in track and field. Nouria Merah-Benida won the women's 1,500-metre title and the first and only gold medal for the Arabs towards the end of the Olympics. Merah-Benida won in a slow and tactical 4 mins 05.10 seconds, ahead of Romanians Violeta Szekely and Gabriela Szabo.

The 30-year-old Merah-Benida kissed her vest before taking an Algerian flag and going on a victory lap as she followed in the footsteps of compatriot Hassiba Boulmerka who won the 1,500 metres in Barcelona eight years ago. "This was a victory for Arab women," she said. "Europeans have sponsorship and facilities but we have courage and heart."

Millon Wolde of Ethiopia hung behind Algerian Ali Saidi-Sief entering the last 200 metres before surging past to win the 5,000-metre race in 13 minutes 35.49 seconds after a slow tactical race. The 22-year-old Saidi-Sief, who timed 13:36.20, had not lost a race all year before last week.

Algerian Aissa Djabir Said-Guerni won a bronze in the men's 800 metres. Earlier Abdel-Rahman Hammad won the bronze in the high jump. Cuba's Diogenes Luna and Mohamed Allalou of Algeria won the light-welterweight bronze medals as losing semi-finalists in boxing.

Hisham Al-Guerrouj of Morocco, the two-time 1,500-metre world champion, relived his nightmare in Atlanta four years earlier when he came up short as the favourite and wound up in tears again. Al-Guerrouj got silver but it certainly made him feel no better.

Countryman Ali Ezzine won a bronze medal in the men's 3,000 metres hurdles, becoming the first Arab to win a medal in an event usually dominated by Kenyans. Ezzine ran the distance in eight minutes 22.15 seconds. Nouzha Bidouane added another bronze after taking third place in the women's 400 metres hurdles.

Brahim Lahlafi took the bronze in the 5,000 metres, clocking 13:36.47. Moroccan boxer Taher Tamsamani won the bronze medal as losing semi-finalist in the 57- kilogramme category.

Saudi Arabia took a silver in athletics and a bronze in show jumping. Hadi Souan Somayli became the first Saudi to win an Olympic medal when he clinched the silver medal in the men's 400-metre hurdles. Somayli, a teacher who started his sports career as a footballer, came second to American favourite Angelo Taylor in a nail-biting finish, setting a new Asian record in the process. Saudi Khaled Al-Eid emerged with a bronze medal in the a three-way jump-off behind Dutch pair Jeroen Dubbeldam and Albert Voorn in the final equestrian event at the Games. The jumping final was held over two rounds with the penalties for both rounds added together to determine the winners. The three medallists were tied on four penalties at the end of regulation competition. Dubbeldam knocked no rails down in the jump-off, while Voorn and Al-Eid both knocked one. Voorn secured silver with a better time.

Army officer Fehaid Al-Dihani grabbed a first-ever Olympic medal for Kuwait on the fifth day of the 16-day-long event when he won the bronze medal in the men's shooting double trap event. Qatar's Assad Said Seif grabbed the bronze medal in the 105-kilogrammes weightlifting category by lifting a combined 420 kilogrammes.

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