Ahmed Elgendy Wins Egypt’s First Silver Medal at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Ahmed Elgendy celebrates after winning the silver medal for Egypt. Credit: Carlos Barria / Reuters

Ahmed Elgendy has made Olympics history for Egypt, winning the country’s first ever medal in the men’s modern pentathlon event and the country’s first non-bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Elgendy, who is just 21-years-old, won the historic silver medal after finishing in second place with 1,477 points, just five points away from Great Britain’s Joseph Choong.

Modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five different events: fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping and final combined ‘laser-run’ event of pistol shooting and cross country running.

In a statement to Dostor in June 2021 before the 2020 Olympic Games kicked off, Elgendy said he was encouraged by his mother to participate in the five sports.

“It was all a coincidence, when I was young my mother took me to a club to join the swimming team because I had allergies and my doctor recommended I start swimming to enhance my breathing,” said Elgendy, whose role model is fellow Egyptian modern pentathlete Aya Medany. “But my mother really liked the idea of doing five sports and encouraged me to join.”

Elgendy previously won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships.

The latest achievement marks Egypt’s fifth medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Hedaya Malak and Seif Eissa won Egypt’s first and second medals respectively in taekwondo, while Mohamed Elsayed won Egypt’s third medal in wrestling and Giana Farouk won Egypt’s fourth medal in karate.

Subscribe to the Egyptian Streets’ weekly newsletter! Catch up on the latest news, arts & culture headlines, exclusive features, and more stories that matter delivered straight to your inbox by clicking here.