CAIRO - Although it's not a popular media sport, Egyptians cannot help but be proud of these highly trained athletes. Egypt's national bodybuilding teams have started their strict preparations for the important forthcoming global events due to be held in Malta and India in October and November, a senior official at the Egyptian Bodybuilding Federation (EBF) says. “Egypt are the world champions in this sport, as the Egyptian teams have won the World Bodybuilding Championships for the past five years," Adel Fahim el-Sayyed, the supervisor of the Egyptian bodybuilding teams, told the Egyptian Mail. “We have applied to get ourselves registered the Guinness Book of World Records, the ultimate authority on record-breaking achievements,” he added. Egypt's bodybuilding teams clinched the first place and the gold medal in the 2005 World Bodybuilding Championships held in Manama; in 2006 in New York; in 2007, again in New York; in 2008, again in Manama; in 2009 in Dubai; and in 2010 in Azerbaijan. “To be world champions is not easy. In fact, it gets harder year after year.” Fahim explained that EBF wants to provide a stabile environment for the national team bodybuilders, so they can maintain their unparalleled global achievements. Fahim, who is also the President of the Arab and African Bodybuilding Federations and the Vice-President of the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB), added that the most wonderful moment of his life was when he heard the Egyptian national anthem being played four times at the World Bodybuilding Championships in November 2008. "It's the best thing I've ever done and I'm proud of what I've achieved," he said. Besides winning the team competition, three Egyptian bodybuilders snatched gold in the individual competitions. Egypt won four of the nine gold medals at the championships. The Pharaohs were followed by Iran and Bahrain (the host country). Fahim stressed that the preparation period for the national teams will begin early, so that the Egyptian heroes can prepare well for the big forthcoming events. “We will participate in the Mediterranean tournament, to be held in Malta from October 23 to 28, then the national team will participate in the World Bodybuilding Championship due to be held in India from November 3 to 8, where the competition will be fierce,” the talented official explained. Fahim, himself a former judo champion, urges ordinary people, experts and sports officials to support Egypt's bodybuilders, as bodybuilding is one of the sharpest arrows in the country's sporting quivers. "It's a disaster when people don't realise this. We are also very strong in squash, which must be supported too," Fahim added. The veteran official pointed out that bodybuilding is an expensive sport. “The training is very hi-tech and of course bodybuilders need to eat a lot of good food, as their muscles have to be very impressive!” he stressed "The 64th IFBB Men's World Amateur Bodybuilding Championship, held in Azerbaijan last year, was ferociously competitive, as around 600 bodybuilders from a number of countries, including Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Canada, Mexico and Ukraine were competing,” Fahim said. Egypt bodybuilders won first place, grabbing two golds, three silvers and one bronze. "But the tournament also witnessed an unpleasant surprise for Egyptian bodybuilder El-Shahat Mabrouk [aged 53], who has been the world champion several times, as he failed to win a medal, finishing fourth in 100kg category.” The EBF decided last week to participate in the first Arnold Classic Europe Bodybuilding Championship, which will be hosted at the Spanish capital of Madrid from October 3 to 9. “It is usual for this championship to be held in the United States of America, but this year and for the first time it will be held outside the USA, in Spain,” Fahim said. Egypt's junior bodybuilding team is also very fond of gold. In November 2007, the Egyptian junior team won the African Bodybuilding Championship in Mauritius, in which nine countries participated. Egyptian bodybuilder Kamal Moustafa won the gold medal in the under 75kg category, while Osama Ayoub won the silver in the same category. In the over 75kg competition, Waleed Mokhtar won gold, while Tareq Yehia grabbed silver. "There are around 20,000 bodybuilders registered with the EBF, only around 60 of whom are professionals," Fahim, who has three daughters, told the same paper. Bodybuilding is the process of developing muscle through training with a combination of different weights. Bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their aesthetic appearance. "Bodybuilding is an all-round form of exercise for the muscles of the body; it's not only a sport," Fahim stressed. Egypt's bodybuilding team did very well in the 2010 World Championships in Azerbaijan. Two strong men who really stood out were el-Shahat Mabrouk and Ahmed Hamouda. The most famous Egyptians in the history of bodybuilding include IFBB legend Mohamed Makkawi; five-time World Amateur Champion and two-time World Games Champion Anwar el-Amawi; six-time World Amateur Champion and the 1999 Egyptian Male Athlete of the Year el-Shahat Mabrouk (who holds the IFBB record for the most World Amateur Champion titles); and Esmat Sadeq, awarded the ‘Most Improved Bodybuilder Award' in the 2002 IFBB World Championships held in Cairo. “Give bodybuilders more moral support, as they really deserve it,” Fahim urged his fellow Egyptians, pointing out that we have many talented bodybuilders. "Anwar el-Amawi, Mohamed Othman, Amr el-Bosaily, Mahmoud Fadali, Moustafa Nassim, Mohamed Zakria and Ahmed Hamouda are some of the names that spring to mind," he said, adding that some of these athletes are very experienced, while others are just starting out on very promising bodybuilding careers.
