The 2024 Summer Olympics are currently underway in Paris, bringing together the most talented athletes from around the world in one place for nail-biting competition and unprecedented performances. Held from July 26 to Aug. 11, we’ve decided to take a minute to marvel at all of the stellar Arab female Olympians who are competing in the quadrennial competition this year.
Kaylia Nemour
The Algerian gymnast is qualified for the uneven bars final of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. At only 17-years-old, the athlete qualified with a score of 15.600 points for her impressive bar routine. It was the second highest score of the day by any apparatus, surpassed only be Simone Biles’ first vault score of 15.800. The France-born gymnast will compete for a medal next week. If she manages to secure a piece of silverware, she will become the first Algerian, and African, athlete to take home an Olympic gymnastics medal. Meanwhile, the athlete—who has an uneven bars release named after her— has already made history as the first African gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships.
Nada Hafez
The Egyptian fencer revealed she was competing in the tournament while seven-months pregnant. On Monday, she posted on Instagram that she was “carrying a little Olympian one” hours after she had reached the round of 16 in women’s saber. A three-time Olympian, Hafez wrote: “My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional. The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it. I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16!” The 26-year-old fencer from Cairo beat out Elizabeth Tartakovsky from the United States, before losing to South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung.
Amani Al Obaidli
Hailing from Bahrain, the swimmer set a new national record in the women’s 100 metres backstroke at the Paris 2024 Olympics, registering a time of one minute 04.27 seconds. The 18-year-old beat the old Bahrain record of 1:04.34—set by herself.
Mashael Alayed
The Saudi swimmer made history by becoming the first female to represent Saudi Arabia in Olympic swimming. On Sunday, the 17-year-old secured sixth place in the women’s 200-meter freestyle heats, achieving a personal best time of 2:19:61. The young athlete is among ten representing the Kingdom at the 2024 Games.
Noor Slaoui
The 29-year-old equestrian from Morocco made history as the first Arab woman to compete in Eventing— when a single horse and rider compete against others in dressage, cross-country, and show jumping— at the Olympics. What’s more impressive, she is also the only Arab athlete to have qualified to ride in the discipline and the first Moroccan rider to compete internationally in the sport.
Safiya Al Sayegh
As the first Arab rider in the Women’s WorldTour, the young Emirati cyclist is making history once again at the 2024 Olympics. A four-time national champion in the UAE and bronze medalist in the U23 Asian Cycling Championships, Al Sayegh recently made headlines as the first Emirati woman, and just the second rider from the country, to qualify for the road race at the Olympics.
Dunya Aboutaleb
The taekwondo star became the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics based purely on her performance—previously, Saudi women had only participated through regional or IOC quotas—marking a significant cultural shift. Her qualification came through the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tai’an China earlier this year, and her achievement was celebrated by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, the minister of sport and head of the Saudi Olympic Committee.
