Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly

Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly (born 9 February 1984 in Cairo) is an Egyptian discus thrower.

Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly
Personal information
Born (1984-02-09) February 9, 1984
Height1.99 m (6 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Weight125 kg (276 lb)
Sport
Country Egypt
SportAthletics
Event(s)Discus
Updated on 12 August 2012.

He originally played handball, while his siblings were on the Egyptian national swimming team.[1]

In 1999 he was recruited by former African shot put champion Nagui Asaad, who was setting up a throwing school that also included hammer thrower Mohsen El Anany and shot putter Yasser Fathy. After having a try with the different implements, he settled for the discus and rapidly made his debut in the national team.[2] In 2000, aged 16, he was selected for the Egyptian team for the World Junior Championships, where he finished in 17th.[1] That year he also won the Arab Championships with a throw of 53.07 m.[1] At the 2002 World Junior Championships, a poor result of 10th was due to a shoulder injury.[1] In 2003, his final year as a junior, he set a new junior world record of 65.88.[1]

His personal best throw is 66.58 metres, achieved in June 2007 in Helsingborg. This is the current national record.[3] In 2007, he also became the first Egyptian athlete to reach the final of an event at the Athletics World Championships.[1]

His 2008 season did not go as well due to a series of injuries.[1]

In June 2009, El Ghazaly gave a strong showing at a meeting in Sollentuna, Sweden, registering a number of throws over 65 metres and winning with 66.34 m. This was an African season's best throw and highlighted him as a possible finalist for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.[4] He again reached the final, but could only achieve 9th place.

His 2010 season was again marred by injury.[1]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Egypt
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 17th (q) Discus 50.43 m
2001 World Youth Championships Debrecen, Hungary 3rd Discus throw (1.5 kg) 61.06 m
African Junior Championships Réduit, Mauritius 2nd Discus throw (1.75 kg) 49.79 m
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 10th Discus throw (1.75 kg) 58.20 m
African Championships Radès, Tunisia 3rd Discus throw 48.17 m
2003 African Junior Championships Garoua, Cameroon 1st Discus throw (1.75 kg) 61.87 m
Universiade Daegu, South Korea 9th Discus throw 55.15 m
All-Africa Games Abuja, Nigeria 1st Discus throw 63.61 m
Afro-Asian Games Hyderabad, India 3rd Discus throw 59.77 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 33rd (q) Discus throw 55.53 m
Pan Arab Games Algiers, Algeria 1st Discus throw 61.06 m
2005 Islamic Solidarity Games Mecca, Saudi Arabia 1st Discus throw 59.89 m
Universiade İzmir, Turkey 2nd Discus throw 62.28 m
2006 African Championships Bambous, Mauritius 1st Discus throw 61.11 m
World Cup Athens, Greece 4th Discus throw 61.50 m
2007 All-Africa Games Algiers, Algeria 1st Discus throw 62.28 m
Universiade Bangkok, Thailand 2nd Discus throw 60.89 m
World Championships Osaka, Japan 6th Discus throw 64.58 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 23rd (q) Discus throw 60.24 m
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 9th Discus throw 62.83 m
Jeux de la Francophonie Beirut, Lebanon 1st Discus throw 61.01 m
2010 African Championships Nairobi, Kenya 1st Discus throw 59.30 m

References
  1. "IAAF: Athlete profile for Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly". IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  2. IAAF on Omar El Ghazaly
  3. Egyptian athletics records Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Julin, Lennart (2009-06-26). El Ghazaly throws 66.34m; Sudanese surpremacy on the track in Sollentuna. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
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