Islam El Shehaby

Islam El Shehaby (Arabic: إسلام الشهابي ʾIslām ash-Shahābī; born 1 August 1982) is an Egyptian former judoka.

Islam El Shehaby
Personal information
Native nameإسلام الشهابي
NationalityEgyptian
Born (1982-08-01) 1 August 1982
Cairo, Egypt
OccupationJudoka
Height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight135 kg (298 lb)
Sport
CountryEgypt
SportJudo
Weight class+100 kg, Open
Achievements and titles
World Champ.Bronze (2010)
African Champ.Gold (2002, 2004, 2008,
Gold( 2009, 2009, 2010,
Gold( 2011, 2011, 2013)
Olympic Games13th (2008)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing  Egypt
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Tokyo +100 kg
African Games
Silver medal – second place 2011 Maputo +100 kg
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Cairo +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2004 Tunis Open
Gold medal – first place 2008 Agadir Open
Gold medal – first place 2009 Mauritius +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2009 Mauritius Open
Gold medal – first place 2010 Yaounde +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Dakar +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Dakar Open
Gold medal – first place 2013 Maputo Open
Silver medal – second place 2001 Tripoli 100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2005 Port Elizabeth Open
Silver medal – second place 2005 Port Elizabeth +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2006 Mauritius +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2008 Agadir +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2010 Yaounde Open
Silver medal – second place 2012 Agadir +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2014 Port Louis +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2015 Libreville +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Tripoli Open
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Tunis +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Maputo +100 kg
World Masters
Silver medal – second place 2011 Baku +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Almaty +100 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Gold medal – first place 2010 Moscow +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Rio de Janeiro +100 kg
IJF Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2009 Abu Dhabi +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2010 Düsseldorf +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2010 Qingdao +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Baku +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2010 Abu Dhabi +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2016 Düsseldorf +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Qingdao +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Abu Dhabi +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Samsun +100 kg
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Almeria +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Pescara +100 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF892
JudoInside.com10442
Updated on 25 July 2023.

El Shehaby competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. El Shehaby was a nine-time African Champion (200213), and was a world bronze medalist in Tokyo 2010. El Shehaby won five World Cup medals, and competitions in Abu Dhabi 2009, Düsseldorf 2010, Moscow 2010, Qingdao 2010, and Baku 2011. El Shehaby won silver at the 2016 Düsseldorf Grand Prix in the +100 kg category.[1]

Following controversy regarding his refusal to shake the hand of Israeli judoka Or Sasson, who defeated him at the 2016 Summer Olympics, El Shehaby retired in August 2016.[2] The Disciplinary Committee of the International Olympic Committee issued a "severe reprimand" to El Shehaby for behavior violating "the rules of fair play and against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic Values," and he was sent home before the Olympics closing ceremony.[3][4]

Personal life

Islam El Shehaby was born in Cairo, Egypt, and is a conservative Salafi Muslim.[5][6][7] He is 1.95 m (6' 5") tall, and weighs 135 kg (298 lbs.)[7]

2016 Olympics controversy

El Shehaby competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he was thrown twice by and lost to Israeli judoka Or Sasson, who later won a bronze medal in this competition.[8] After the match, El Shehaby refused to bow or shake hands with his opponent, after the Israeli had bowed to him.[4] As a result of his major breach of judo etiquette, the Egyptian was loudly booed and jeered by the near-capacity crowd.[2][5][9]

After his defeat, El Shehaby lay flat on his back for a moment before standing to take his place before Sasson, in front of the referee. When Sasson extended his hand to the Egyptian, El Shehaby backed away, shaking his head and shunning Sasson.[2][5] The referee then called El Shehaby back to the mat and demanded that he bow, at which point El Shehaby gave a quick nod of his head.[6]

El Shehaby's conduct was widely condemned as unsportsmanlike.[10] American coach Jimmy Pedro said "That is extremely rare in judo. It is especially disrespectful considering it was a clean throw and a fair match. It was completely dishonourable and totally unsportsmanlike on the part of the Egyptian."[5] BBC judo commentator Mark Doran said. "That is not what the Olympics are about."[11]

El Shehaby's refusal to shake hands had precedent, in actions by another member of Egypt's team. Egyptian judoka Ramadan Darwish had refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent Arik Zeevi, another Israeli Olympic bronze medalist, in both the 2011 Judo Grand Slam and the 2012 Judo Grand Prix.[5][6]

Prior to competing, El Shehaby had been urged to forfeit the match by Egyptian Islamists and nationalists, as Iranian Javad Mahjoub had done years earlier in forfeiting a match against Or Sasson.[12] The Egyptian Olympic Committee stated that El Shehaby was alerted before the match to abide by all the rules and have sporting spirit. The committee also stated that what he did was a personal action.[13]

Both the International Olympic Committee and the International Judo Federation stated that they would review the incident, to see if action should be taken.[9][14][15] It is unclear what potential punishment El Shehaby or Egyptian judo as a whole could face, but his hopes of medaling were dashed regardless due to Sasson's decisive performance in the quarterfinals.[10]

Following his defeat and the related controversy, El Shehaby announced he was retiring from judo.[2]

The Ethics Committee and the Disciplinary Committee of the International Olympic Committee issued a "severe reprimand" to El Shehaby for behavior violating "the rules of fair play and against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic Values", and he was reportedly sent home before the Olympics closing ceremony.[3][4] IOC Disciplinary Committee also requested that the Egyptian Olympic Committee in the future make certain that all Egyptian athletes are properly educated as to the Olympic Values before they participate in the Olympic Games.[3] Egypt's Judo Federation however denied that he had been punished and claimed he had traveled back home with his team as scheduled since it was customary for athletes to go back once their competitions were finished.[16]

Achievements

YearTournamentPlaceWeight class
20162016 Summer Olympics DSQHeavyweight (+100 kg)
2008African Judo Championships 2ndHeavyweight (+100 kg)
1stOpen class
2006African Judo Championships 2ndHeavyweight (+100 kg)
5thOpen class
2005African Judo Championships 2ndHeavyweight (+100 kg)
2ndOpen class
Mediterranean Games 3rdHeavyweight (+100 kg)
2004African Judo Championships 3rdHeavyweight (+100 kg)
1stOpen class
2002African Judo Championships 1stHeavyweight (+100 kg)
2001African Judo Championships 2ndHeavyweight (+100 kg)
3rdOpen class

See also

References

  1. "Islam El Shehaby, Judoka, JudoInside". Judoinside.com. 1 August 1982. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  2. Webster, Andrew (13 August 2016). "Teddy Riner wins Rio judo gold - but Israeli judoka all class in wake of Egypt handshake snub". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  3. Grohmann, Karolos (15 August 2016). "Egyptian judoka sent home over handshake refusal with Israeli". Reuters. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  4. "Olympics ethics committee warns Egyptian judoka Shehabi". Egypt Independent. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. "Egyptian Judo Athlete Refuses Israeli's Handshake". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  6. "Egyptian judoka refuses handshake with Israeli". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  7. "Islam El-Shehaby Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  8. "Egyptian judo fighter refuses to shake Israeli opponent's hand". Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  9. "Egyptian judo fighter refuses to shake Israeli opponent's hand". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  10. Chiari, Mike. "Islam El Shehaby Refuses Handshake After 1st-Round Judo Loss". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  11. "Defeated Egyptian judoka refuses to shake Israeli opponent's hand". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  12. "Fans Pressure Egyptian Judoka Not to 'Shame Islam' by Contending Against Israeli at Rio Olympics". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  13. "Egyptian judoka refuses to shake Israeli opponent's hand". NBC Olympics. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  14. "Egyptian judoka quits sport after refusing to shake Israel rival's hand". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  15. "IOC to probe Egyptian judoka's refusal to shake Israeli's hand". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  16. Joshua Berlinger. "Olympics: Was Egyptian Judoka punished for refusing to shake Israeli's hand?". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.