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