'Salah is a role model for all of us' - Ahmed Elgendy channelling Egyptian star in bid for gold medal at Paris Olympics
Updated 14/07/2024 at 14:48 GMT+1
Egyptian modern pentathlon athlete Ahmed Elgendy is taking inspiration from footballing royalty Mohamed Salah as Elgendy aims for a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Elgendy met with Salah in January and admits that the Liverpool star is a "role model" for the entire country. Elgendy won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games as a 21-year-old and hopes to go a step further in Paris.
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Ahmed Elgendy is using Liverpool star Mohamed Salah as inspiration ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Elgendy, now 24, was 21 when he won silver in the modern pentathlon at the Tokyo Games.
After meeting Egyptian national side captain Salah in January this year, Elgendy posed for a picture with him with his silver medal hanging from his neck.
The Olympian is hopeful of another photo with his hero, this time with a gold medal, and his name further etched into Egypt’s sporting history.
"Salah is a role model for all of us. Having a conversation with him, not just taking a photo, is a very big thing," Elgendy said. "We talked about the Olympics and preparations; it was a very good meeting."
Elgendy took silver in Tokyo thanks to a late rally that saw him finish behind Team GB’s Joe Choong.
While relatively unknown at the time, the podium place saw him become the first African to win an Olympic medal at modern pentathlon, which combines riding, fencing, swimming, running and shooting.
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Injuries have hampered Elgendy since his Tokyo success, limiting his championship experience and even forcing him out of the Pentathlon World Championships only last month. But he heads to Paris fit and healthy after an intensive rehabilitation program.
"Things are different now compared to Tokyo; I'm more experienced and confident. Over the past three years, I've participated in only seven championships due to my shoulder injuries, yet I won medals in five of them," Elgendy said.
"My primary target is to win gold, but I will also be happy if I win a silver or bronze as it will mark a second successive Olympic medal."
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In Tokyo, the horse-riding portion of the contest was only part of a single-round format, but in Paris the pentathlon athletes will ride in both the semi-finals and the final.
The equestrian competition sees riders allocated a random horse only 20 minutes before the start and the entire portion represents a unique challenge for athletes. But it is a part of the event that is due to be scrapped entirely from the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with obstacle racing introduced instead.
"There is a bigger risk now in regard to horse riding; it's a bigger challenge. We hope things will go smoothly," Elgendy added.
Elgendy feels the weight of his nation's expectations on his shoulders, much like Salah does. But as Egypt's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony, Elgendy will turn that pressure to positivity.
"I know that I'm under the spotlight now, unlike in Tokyo. But I'm taking positives from that and treating it as extra motivation," he said.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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