Center East athletes rack up 44 medals at Paris Olympics

Athletes from the Middle East representing 10 countries took home medals from the Paris Olympics. Iran and Turkey led the region in medals earned, winning 12 and 8 in archery, respectively, and shining in martial arts and other events. 

Here is a look at the medal winners from the Middle East. 

Algeria 

Algerian 25-year-old Imane Khelif took home the gold medal in the women’s welterweight boxing 66 kilograms bracket, beating her Chinese opponent Yang Liu 5-0. Khelif’s victory marks her first Olympic medal, having missed one in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Khelif has been the subject of considerable controversy throughout the Olympics surrounding her gender. International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams stated Friday that Khelif “was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport,” making her eligible to compete with women under the International Olympic Committee guidelines for boxing. 

Last year, Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu‑ting were disqualified by the International Boxing Association from the Women’s World Boxing Championships after the governing body said they had the XY chromosomes of men. 

“Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” IBA President Umar Kremlev told the official Russian news agency TASS. 

Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee described the IBA’s decision to disqualify the two boxers as “sudden and arbitrary,” saying they were barred “without due process.” Khelif previously competed at boxing events without issues, according to the Associated Press, which reported that the IBA has not released significant details pertaining to the tests. 

The Olympics banished the IBA last year, citing issues with its governance. 

Like Khelif, Lin Yu‑ting went on to win her gold medal match, beating her Polish opponent Julia Szeremeta 5-0.  

Algeria’s 17-year-old Kaylia Neymour won the gold medal in gymnastics for women’s uneven bars. Born and raised in France, the dual national began competing for Algeria in 2021 after a dispute with the French gymnastics federation. Neymour said of the matter in an interview with SNTV, “I don’t really think about it, I won this medal for myself and for Algeria. I represent Algeria. France is behind me. I turned the page.”

Algeria also took home a bronze medal in the men’s 800 meter sprint. Djamel Sedjati, 25, finished third in his race with a time of 1:41.50. 

Bahrain 

Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi took home the gold medal in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase in an upset, dethroning the previous champion, Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai. The 24-year-old athlete pulled ahead in the final stretch of the race, finishing with an Olympic record time of 8:52.76. 

Yavi won first in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in the World Championships in Budapest, but her recent gold is her first Olympic medal for Bahrain. Born in Kenya, Yavi changed her citizenship from Kenyan to Bahraini when she was 15 years old. Though she faced mixed reactions from fellow athletes and Kenyans, Yavi stands by her decision, saying in a 2023 interview, “I used to go to Kenyan trials, but I didn’t get the chance. In Kenya, we have a lot of athletes, and they select two or three athletes at most. In 2016, I was number three, but they were only taking the top two. So when Bahrain came calling, I took the opportunity.” Yavi is now the third athlete in Olympic history to win a gold for Bahrain.

Bahrain’s other track medalist this year, also a woman, came in second in the women’s 400 meter race. Salwa Eid Naser, 26, achieved a season best with a time of 48.17 seconds to win the silver. 

Two more athletes won medals for Bahrain: 29-year-old Gor Minasyan won bronze in men’s 102 kilogram weightlifting and 21-year-old Akhmed Tazhudinov took home Algeria’s second gold medal this year in men’s 97 kilogram freestyle wrestling. 

Egypt

Egypt took home three medals: gold, silver and bronze. Ahmed Elgendy took home a historic first gold medal for Egypt. The 24-year-old won Egypt’s first gold in the Modern Pentathlon, a multisport consisting of fencing, swimming, jumping, shooting and running. Egypt’s silver went to 26-year-old weightlifter Sara Ahmed, who came in second in the women’s 81 kilogram weightlifting event. Mohamed El Sayed, 21, won bronze in the men’s epee fencing event. El Sayed previously competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games but finished in eighth place. El Sayed’s bronze marks the fourth medal for Arab fencers in Olympic history.

Iran

Iran picked up 12 medals this year, eight of them in Iran’s historical national sport of wrestling. Mohammed Hadi Saravi, 26, won Iran’s first Olympic gold this year in men’s 97 kilogram greco-roman wrestling. Saravi beat his Armenian competitor 4-1 in the final. First-time Olympian 21-year-old Said Esmaeili Leivesi also took gold in men’s greco-roman 67 kilogram wrestling, beating Ukrainian Parviz Nasibov 6-5. Iran took four silver medals in wrestling: Alireza Mohmadipiani, 21, in the men’s greco-roman 87 kilogram category; Hassan Yazdanicharati, 29, in the men’s freestyle 86 kilogram; Rahman Amouzadkhalili, 22, in the men’s freestyle 65 kilogram; and Amir Hossein Zare, 23, in the men’s freestyle 125 kilogram. Iran’s last wrestling medal went to Amirali Azarpira, who won bronze in the men’s freestyle 97 kilogram category. 

Amin Mirzazadeh, 26, defeated Azerbaijani Sabah Saleh Shariati 4-0 to clinch a bronze in the quarter-final stage of the men’s 130 kilogram greco-roman wrestling competition. After winning the match, Mirzazadeh carried his Azerbaijani rival on his shoulders in a celebration of Shariati’s last wrestling match before retirement.

Iran’s second-ever woman medalist, 19-year-old Mobina Nematzadeh, claimed the bronze in the women’s 49 kilogram taekwondo competition after defeating her Saudi opponent, Dunya Abutaleb, 2-0. After winning, Nematzadeh was celebrated on X by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who wrote, “The women of our land add color to our lives. My daughter, Mobina Nematzadeh, I am proud of you and all the women and girls of Iran.” 

Iran’s Nahid Kiyanichandeh, 26, joined Nematzadeh as Iran’s third-ever woman medalist, winning silver in women’s 57 kilogram taekwondo. Iran took home two more medals in taekwondo after 24-year-old Mehran Barkhordari won silver in the men’s 80 kilogram category and 20-year-old Arian Salimi took home the gold in the men’s 80 kilogram category.

Israel

Israel nearly swept windsurfing. Tom Reuveny, 24, took home Israel’s only gold medal from the men’s windsurfing event. In the women’s competition, 21-year-old Sharon Kantor won silver, losing to Italy’s Marta Maggetti. 

Artem Dolgopyat, 27, won silver in the men’s floor exercise gymnastics event, losing out to Filipino Carlos Yulo. At the 2021 games in Tokyo, Dolgopyat won Israel’s second-ever Olympic gold at the 2021. Israel also took home the silver in the group all-around category of rhythmic gymnastics. 

Peter Paltchik, 32, won the bronze in judo in the men’s under 100 kilograms (220 pounds) bracket. The Israeli flag-bearer tied for the third-place medal with Uzbekistan’s Muzaffarbek Turoboyev. 

Paltchik sparked controversy on social media during the games because of his views on the Gaza war. Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, he posted a picture of missiles on X, writing, “From me to you with pleasure” and the hashtag “#HamasisISIS.” The Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported earlier this month that the International Olympic Committee is in contact with the Israeli Olympic Committee over the matter, but further details have not been released by the body.

In women’s judo, 24-year-old Inbar Lanir won silver in the under 78 kilograms (172 pounds) category, losing to Italy’s Alice Bellandi, while Raz Hersho, 26, won silver in the over 78 kilograms event, second to Brazil’s Beatriz Souza. 

Jordan 

Jordan came away with just one medal this year, after 23-year-old Zaid Kareem won the silver in the men’s 68 kilogram taekwondo competition. Paris was Kareem’s first Olympics; he beat the UK’s Braley Sinden 2-1 in the semifinal, then lost to Uzbekistan’s Ulugbeck Rashitov 2-0. 

Morocco 

Morocco won two medals this Olympics: agold in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase and a bronze in men’s soccer. The gold came from 28-year-old Soufiane El Bakkali, who achieved a season best with his time of 8:06.05 in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase race. El Bakkali previously won gold in the 2020 Tokyo Games, becoming the first Moroccan Olympic champion since 2004. 

The Moroccan men’s soccer team beat Egypt 6-0 to win the bronze and the first Olympic medal in soccer in the country’s history. 

Qatar 

Qatar’s only medal this Olympics comes from 33-year-old high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim. Barshim achieved a season best in the men’s high jump final at 2.34 meters to win the bronze. Barshim participated in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, each time winning silver, and at the Tokyo 2020 games he became the first Qatari Olympic champion in athletics and second Qatari champion in any sport, winning a gold. 

Tunisia

Firas Katoussi, a first-time Olympian at 28, won Tunisia’s only gold this Olympics in men’s 80 kilogram taekwondo. Katoussi beat his Iranian opponent, Mehran Barkhordari, 2-0 in the final. 

Tunisia also came away with a silver in fencing and a bronze and gold in taekwondo. Tunisian fencer Fares Ferjani, 27, won silver in the men’s individual saber competition. Ferjani is a three-time Olympian, but this year marks his first medal for Tunisia. Ferjani competed in the final against South Korea’s Oh Sanguk, who won 15-11 and clinched the gold. 

Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi took the bronze in men’s 58 kilogram taekwondo, beating Spain’s Adrian Vicente Yunta 2-0. At only 22, this is the second Olympic medal for Jendoubi, who won an Olympic silver medal in his 2020 Tokyo Games debut.

Turkey 

Turkey won eight medals this year in shooting, wrestling, archery and boxing. Yusuf Dikec, 51, and his teammate, 24-year-old Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, won silver in the air pistol mixed team competition. Dikec quickly went viral for his casual appearance at the event, sporting no specialized lenses or even eye or ear protection, inspiring memes and prompting other Olympians to mimic his casual pose. Paris was the fifth Olympics for Dikec, a seven-time European champion in 25 meter standard pistol and 25 meter centerfire pistol. He took up shooting in 2001 after he started working as a non-commissioned officer for Gendarmerie General Command, a law enforcement agency in Turkey from which he is now reportedly retired.

 Buse Tosun Cavusoglu won Turkey a bronze medal in women’s 68 kilogram freestyle wrestling. The 28-year-old beat North Korea’s Sol Gum Pak 4-2 in the bronze match. Taha Akgul, 33, also took home a medal in wrestling for Turkey after winning bronze in the men’s freestyle 125 kilogram category against Kyrgyzstan’s Aiaal Lazarev 7-0. 

Turkey’s men’s archery team won a historic first team medal for Turkey. Mete Gazoz, 25, Muhammed Abdullah Yildirim, 20, and Ulash Berkim Tumer, 22, came away with a bronze medal in Paris after beating China 6-2. The team previously won silver at the Berlin 2023 World Archery Championships. 

Turkish boxer Esra Yildiz Kahraman, 27, won bronze in the 57 kilogram women’s boxing category after facing her Taiwanese competitor Lin Yu-ting, who advanced to the final after winning 5-0. Yildiz Kahraman reached the quarterfinals in her Olympic debut in Tokyo, but lost the match for third place. The bronze match this year was also mired in controversy amid speculation about her gender on social media. Yildiz Kahraman seemed to add fuel to the fire during her match by repeatedly making an X gesture with her fingers, indicating the female chromosome, alluding to scrutiny over her competitor’s gender. 

Two more Turkish boxers won medals this year. Hatice Akbas, a 23-year-old first-time Olympian, won the silver in women’s 54 kilogram boxing while 28-year-old Buse Naz Cakiroglu won silver in women’s 50 kilogram boxing.

Turkey’s final medal went to Nafia Kus Ayden, 29, who won bronze in women’s 67 kilogram taekwondo after beating the UK’s Rebecca McGowan 2-1.