Hammer thrower, Mustafa Al-Gamal, javelin thrower, Ihab Abdel-Rahman, and high jumper, Passant Mosaad, have qualified for the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup to be held from 13-14 September in Marrakech, Morocco. Al-Gamal snatched the first place and gold medal with a throw of 79.09 metres. Abdel-Rahman claimed the second place and silver medal with a throw of 83.59 metres. Mosaad captured the silver medal and second place with a jump of 1.80 metres at the 19th African Senior Championships held in Morocco from 10-14 August 2014. Participating countries were Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Mauritius, Ghana, Sudan, Tunisia, Nigeria, Namibia, Zambia, the Ivory Coast, South Africa and Kenya. The championship presented the African athletes with the opportunity to represent the continent at the next 2014 IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) Continental Cup. Executive Director and General Supervisor of the National Teams at the Egyptian Athletics Federation (EAF) Ahmed Al-Wardani said, “Al-Gamal and Abdel-Rahman were in training camp since last January. Abdel-Rahman has been in an ongoing training camp in Finland. He competed in different championship then returned to the camp. Al-Gamal and Mosaad were in a continuing training camp in Cairo. Al-Gamal has a training camp in Morocco three weeks before the 19th African Senior Championships.” In hammer throw results, Al-Gamal won a gold medal with a throw of 79.09 metres, South African Chris Harmse took a silver medal with a throw of 73.90 metres, while Moroccan Driss Barid captured a bronze medal with a throw of 60.17 metres. In javelin throw results, Kenyan Julius Yego snatched a gold medal with a throw of 84.72 metres, Abdel-Rahman took silver with a throw of 83.59 metres and South African Robert Oosthuizen took a bronze medal with a throw of 77.81metres. In high jump results, Moroccan Rhizlane Siba won the gold medal with a throw of 1.80 metres, Mosaad snatched the silver medal with a throw of 1.80 metres and Ethiopian Ariyat Dibow Ubang took the bronze medal with a throw of 1.78 metres. “This is not the first time for our athletes to compete in the IAAF Continental Cup. Our athletes did not achieve any medals except in the year 2002, when athlete Hatem Mersal won a silver medal in the long jump,” added El-Wardani. Regarding the athletes' preparations for the IAAF Continental Cup, El-Wardani told Al-Ahram Weekly, “Abdel-Rahman returned to his training camp in Finland. He is going to participate in the Diamond League in Stockholm. Al-Gamal will travel on 26 August to Marrakech to resume his training camp. EAF is expecting Abdel-Rahman and Al-Gamal will win medals.” Career highlights: Mustafa Al-Gamal, 26, is an Egyptian hammer thrower. He has practiced hammer throw since 2004 at Ahli Sporting Club. In 2014, his best personal throw of 81.27 metres set a new African record. He beat the previous record held since 2005 by South African hammer thrower, Chris Harmse (80.63 m). He represented Egypt in hammer throw in the Olympics Games London 2012. He finished in the 15th place with a throw of 71.69 metres. Lately, he won a bronze medal with a throw of 71.40 metres at the African Championships in Kenya 2010. He claimed a silver medal with a throw of 70.23 metres at the Pan Arab Games in Qatar 2011. He took a bronze medal with a throw of 73.81 metres at the African Championships in Benin 2012. He snatched a gold medal with a throw of 76.68 metres at the Mediterranean games in Turkey 2013. Also, he won a gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Indonesia 2013. Ihab Abdel-Rahman, 25, is an Egyptian javelin thrower. His personal best is 89.21 metres in javelin throw achieved at the Shangai Diamond League, which was considered a new world, Arab and African javelin record. It was also the longest throw in the world for nearly seven years. He won a gold medal with a throw of 79.17 metres at the Arab Championship in Qatar 2011. He claimed first place with a throw of 78.96 metres at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Indonesia 2013. Mosaad, 21, is an Egyptian champion in high jump. Her best personal jump is 1.82 metres. She secured a gold medal at the Arab Championship 2012. She won a silver medal at the Arab Athletics Championship in Qatar 2013. She is also an African champion after winning a gold medal at the African Universities Championship in Kenya 2014.
