Ahmad Abu Al-Soud ( ar, احمد ابو السعود; born 5 July 1995) is a Jordanian

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

. He became the first gymnast from Jordan to medal at the

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held in 1903, exclusively for male gymnas ...

when he won the silver medal on pommel horse at the 2022 World Championships. He then won the bronze medal on the pommel horse at the 2023 World Championships. He is also the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and 2022 Asian champion on the pommel horse.

Career

Abu Al-Soud began gymnastics when he was four years old. He considered retiring in 2015, but his coach encouraged him to continue. Abu Al-Soud won the bronze medal on the pommel horse at the 2016 Mersin World Challenge Cup. He placed sixth on the pommel horse at the 2017 Koper World Challenge Cup. His first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

was in

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, and he finished 36th on pommel horse in the qualification round. Abu Al-Soud won his first major international medal at the 2019 Asian Championships, a gold on the pommel horse. He won his first

FIG World Cup FIG World Cup refers to a number of events organized by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) across seven competitive gymnastics disciplines: 1) acrobatic gymnastics, 2) aerobic gymnastics, 3) men's artistic gymnastics, 4) women's artistic ...

gold medal at the 2021 Mersin World Challenge Cup on the pommel horse. Abu Al-Soud began the 2022 season with a bronze medal on the pommel horse at the Cairo World Cup. He won another pommel horse bronze medal at the 2022 Varna World Challenge Cup. Then at the 2022 Asian Championships, he defended his pommel horse title. At the

2021 Islamic Solidarity Games ‌The 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games ( tr, 2021 İslami Dayanışma Oyunları) were the 5th edition of the event held from 9 to 18 August 2022 at Konya, Turkey under the aegis of Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF). It was the first time ...

(held in 2022 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

), he was a flag bearer in the opening ceremony alongside Aliya Boshnak. He won the gold medal in the pommel horse final. At the 2022 World Championships in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, Abu Al-Soud qualified for the pommel horse event final in eighth place, becoming the first gymnast from Jordan to qualify for an event final at the

. He then won the silver medal in the pommel horse final behind Irish gymnast

Rhys McClenaghan Rhys Joshua McClenaghan (born 21 July 1999) is a Northern Irish artistic gymnast competing internationally for both Northern Ireland and Ireland. He is the 2022 world champion on pommel horse, the first Irish artistic gymnast ever to win world ...

. This marked the first time a gymnast from Jordan and the first time an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

gymnast had won a medal at the World Championships. Abu Al-Soud finished eighth in the pommel horse final at the 2023 Cottbus World Cup. At the

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asian ...

, he won the silver medal on the pommel horse behind Kazakhstan's

Nariman Kurbanov Nariman Kurbanov (born 6 December 1997) is a Kazakhstani artistic gymnast. He competed at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Career He represented Kazakhstan at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia. ...

. He won the gold medal by nearly a full point on the pommel horse at the 2023 Mersin World Challenge Cup. At the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Asian Games (), also known as Hangzhou 2022, ( zh, c=杭州2022, p=Hángzhōu Èr líng èr èr), will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the t ...

(held in 2023 due the

), he made a mistake in the qualification round and did not advance into the pommel horse final. Then at the 2023 World Championships, he won the bronze medal on the pommel horse behind

and

Khoi Young Khoi Alexander Young (born December 31, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. He was a member of the bronze medal winning team at the 2023 World Championships. He is a member of the United States men's national gymnastics team and currently ...

. Because he finished behind McClenaghan, he did not earn the pommel horse 2024 Olympic berth. Abu Al-Soud registered for the 2024 Apparatus World Cup Series to earn points for Olympic qualification.

Personal life

Abu Al-Soud is in graduate school for a degree in sports science at

Al-Ahliyya Amman University Al-Ahliyya Amman University (AAU) (or Amman University, or Amman Private University) is located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1990, it was the first private university in Jordan. King Abdullah. (2011). ''Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peac ...

Eponymous skill

Abu Al-Soud has a skill on the pommel horse that is named after him in the Code of Points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Al-Soud, Ahmad 1995 births Living people Jordanian male artistic gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Gymnasts at the 2022 Asian Games Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games Islamic Solidarity Games gold medalists Islamic Solidarity Games medalists for Jordan