As the Beijing Olympic Games kick off tomorrow in China, the world's attention will be focused on the most prestigious sports event in the world. Inas Mazhar gauges Egypt's chances The Olympic Games will take place 8 to 24 August 2008 in Beijing and will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic programme. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate, with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world. In the last Olympic Games in Athens 2004, the Egyptians claimed five Olympic medals after 20 years of absence from the medal table. They were a gold in wrestling, a silver in boxing and three bronze medals for boxing and tae kwon do. Back then, nobody expected Egypt to win any medals. Hopes were pinned only on one weightlifter; Nahla Ramadan, who in actual fact failed to meet those expectations. This year, Egyptians are optimistic of winning at least two gold medals. Statistics show that the Olympics gold medalist wrestler Karam Gaber is back on form to defend his gold medal. Aged 29, it will likely be Gaber's last chance to add another gold medal to his career. Modern Pentathlon world champion Aya Medani, 19, also has a strong chance to make the gold medal. The Egyptian prodigy is the world's top-ranked player in both the juniors and seniors in the sport. It is the second participation for Medani in the Olympic Games. In Athens, aged 16, she was the sport's youngest participant. Egypt is taking part in the Games with a 177- strong delegation, including 100 male and female athletes. They will be taking part in handball, volleyball, fencing, wrestling, boxing, equestrian, modern pentathlon, tae kwon do, Badminton, synchronised swimming, Judo, table-tennis, athletics and swimming. There are other possibilities for Egypt. Boxing, in which Egypt claimed three medals in Athens and whose winners have all retired, is counting on another three new participants: Ramadan Abdel-Gafar, Mohamed Abdel-Mawgoud Heikal and Hossam Bakr. Another female athlete has a chance to make it to the podium in tae kwon do. Noha Safwat, who plays in the 72 kg weight category, is another hope for a medal. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the 24th edition of the Olympic Games will show the world what the Olympic Games really are: a gathering of young people who share the same goal and the same enthusiasm for sport. As well as inviting the finest athletes in the world to compete against each other, the Games will also provide a stage for China to present itself to the world during 17 days and 16 nights of sporting celebration. Not only will the competition be fierce, but both the IOC and the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG) have other plans to make the Games more beneficial and entertaining for everyone. Athletes participating in Games will donate sporting clothes for refugees in Asia. The IOC and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have just launched their successful 'Giving is Winning' campaign at the Olympic Village, to find as many supporters as possible for their joint project. 'Giving is Winning' was activated last year in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to maximise the donations. The initial objective of collecting 50,000 items by the Olympic Family was already nearly met ahead of the Beijing Games. "I am thrilled by this success and the strong support of the Olympic family so far. Of course we want to go much further now -- the bigger an impact we can make with this campaign, the better. I am convinced that with our joint efforts we can collect many more items," said IOC President Rogge at the Olympic Village. With more than 10,000 athletes in Beijing, as well as many delegation members, his expectations are likely to be met. Sergey Bubka, IOC member and Chairman of the IOC Athletes' Commission said: "I am confident that many of my colleagues will recognise the value of this project and be eager to contribute. It really is so easy to participate. Sport has given a lot to all of us and it is great to be able to give a little back by bringing joy to refugees." The athletes can donate the items in the IOC Corner in the Olympic Village. The simplicity of the campaign's concept is behind the success. Members and supporters of the Olympic Movement donate clothes which are then distributed by the UNHCR to various refugee camps. The donations will also be used to facilitate sports activities in the camps. For refugees, sport can provide a semblance of normalcy and structure to lives that are in disarray as UNHCR chief António Guterres explains: "Refugee youth have often suffered terribly and witnessed war first hand. Some refugees are born in camps; others grow up in camps, which can mean a lifetime with little or no access to sport or recreation. The gift of sportswear from Olympic athletes around the globe inspires refugees and connects them to the world of sports. Beyond happiness it brings them hope." BOCOG President Liu Qi, Jacques Rogge, Sergey Bubka and UNHCR regional representative for China and Mongolia Veerapong Vongvarotai were among the first to put their donations in the dedicated containers in the Olympic Village -- the starting signal for the athletes and their entourage to lift 'Giving is Winning' to new heights. Another project have also been launched by UNAIDS, BOCOG and the IOC, 'Play Safe -- Help stop HIV.' The objective set is to educate athletes participating in the Beijing Games about HIV and recruit them as ambassadors to raise awareness about the epidemic. Today more than 33 million people are living with HIV and of those newly infected in 2007, 45 percent are young people under 25. Many of these youths are involved in sport, either as spectators or participants. Through its global network, the sports community can be a key actor in reaching out to communities to promote safer sexual behaviour and to stop stigma and discrimination. Informative leaflets will be distributed to all athletes competing in the Games, and free condoms will be made available at the polyclinics of the three Olympic Villages in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong. "Athletes should know about how HIV can be transmitted, how it does not transmit, and how HIV can be prevented. This should help them to educate peers and fight discrimination against people with HIV. It really is a topic relevant to sport," said Egypt's Rania Elwani campaign ambassador, former Olympic swimmer and member of the IOC Athletes' Commission during the launch. Another famous voice for the initiative is the Chinese basketball player Yao Ming. In order to reach out to as many athletes as possible during the Games, UNAIDS has helped the BOCOG to train its medical staff and volunteers on the topic of HIV prevention. "UNAIDS is very pleased with its collaboration with the IOC and BOCOG," said UNAIDS Country Coordinator Dr Bernhard Schwartlönder. "We know that sport and the Olympic Games are universal languages that can play a very important and positive role in raising AIDS awareness and reducing stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV."
