Egypt revived memories of its past victories by ranking fifth in the Mediterranean Games, Abeer Anwar reports After a long absence from the Mediterranean Medal Standings, Egypt was able to rank fifth after France, Italy, Spain and Turkey with a total of 44 medals: 15 gold,10 silver and 19 bronze. It was the only Arab country among the top five. The Egyptian delegation at Almeria 2005 Mediterranean Games was able to collect the gold medals for which it has longed for 50 years. Ever since the Beirut Mediterranean Games were held in 1959 -- when Egypt collected 24 gold medals -- it has not managed to secure such a victory. In the last games, held in Tunisia 2001, Egypt collected only seven gold medals. This was not the only achievement for the Egyptian delegation. For the first time in Egypt's history in the games, it ranked first in a team competition. Egypt's national volleyball team was there to collect the gold medal after beating the Spaniards in what turned out to be one of the best games of the championship. On their way to the final, Egypt lost to Spain in the preliminaries 0-3, beat Croatia 3-2, Greece 3-0, Serbia and Montenegro 3-2, and met Spain once again in a challenging final against the hosts. Spain started leading the first set to win 25-23 but the Pharaohs drew in the second set, taking them to a winning position at 26-24. In the third set, the Spanish players -- backed by their fans -- were able to steal a quick victory at 25- 18, but soon afterwards the Egyptian woke up and became more and more fiercely intent on winning. The last two sets finished in their favour at 25-17 and 18-16. Though the Egyptian delegation could not count on famous names, it by no means lacked a fighting spirit. Eventually the Egyptians beat Spain in five sets, who were a match point away from winning. The last point of the fifth set ended with block from the Egyptian defense that earned them a well deserved gold. Commenting on the victory, Amr Elwani, Egyptian Volleyball Federation president said, "It is a great achievement. The Olympic Committee refused to include the volleyball team among the official delegation and the federation paid all the expenses but we were able to achieve what others did not. It is the first time in our history to snatch the gold in a team sport and this is a great achievement that gives a push to other Egyptian teams." A second surprise was that of Mohamed Heikel, who was able to collect the first gold for Egyptian boxing in the under 75 kg category after overcoming Turkey's Safas Kia in the final match with a score of 25-22. As Ismail Hamed, head of the Egyptian Boxing Federation said, "It was an expected medal and the boxer deserved it. He has been training for a long time and he is one of our best boxers." A third most spectacular achievement was that of Karim El-Zoghbi in the equestrian sport. He won the bronze medal -- and thus became the first to come among the top three in this sport at the Mediterranean Games. As Abdel Fattah Ragab, head of the Egyptian Equestrian Federation commented, "El-Zoghbi is a promising player and this medal will inspire other players to work hard and do the same." Egypt's gold medalist are: members of the volleyball team, boxer Mohamed Heikel, Heba Salah and Mohamed El-Sheimi in Karate, Ibrahim Morsi, Heba Abdel Rehim, Nahla Ramadan (two gold medals), Mohamed Masoud, Esmat Ahmed and Hussein Osman in weightlifting, Ashraf El-Gharbli, Mohamed Mohamed, Karam Gaber and Hassan Ibrahim in wrestling. Most medals were won by competitors in the individual sports categories. In wrestling, Egypt collected four gold medals, three silver and five bronze. In weightlifting Egypt seized seven gold medals, four silver and four bronze. In judo, it won two silver and two bronze. In karate it took away two gold medals. In boxing Egypt made one gold medal and two bronze. In the equestrian competition and in rowing, it made one bronze medal each respectively. There were also one silver and two bronze medals for Egyptian swimmers. Commenting on the Egyptian performance in the Games, Khaled Zein, head of the Egyptian delegation to Almeria said, "The number of medals achieved was unexpected. All federations and players did their best and achieved more than they asked for. These games will never be forgotten as they have been the best for Egypt through history, especially given the fact that it faced such strong competition from European and Arab countries."
