The

Egyptian Olympic Committee The Egyptian Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية المصرية, abbreviated as EOC) is a non-profit organization serving as the National Olympic Committee of Egypt and a part of the International Olympic Committee. History T ...

considers the nation to have first competed in the Summer Olympic Games at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. According to the official report, the nation sent one fencer, Ahmed Hassanein, who competed in the individual foil and épée events. There is uncertainty, however, as to whether he competed, as the official report lists all entrants in fencing regardless of their actual participation, and no results are known for Hassanein.

Background

In 1912

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

was ''de jure'' under the control of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, but had been ''de facto'' run by the British since 1882. At the 1896 Summer Olympics, an athlete by the name of Dionysios Kasdaglis competed in

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and won silver medals in the singles and doubles tournaments. Kasdaglis is listed as Greek by the IOC for the singles, but in the doubles he and his Greek partner

Demetrios Petrokokkinos Demetrios Stephen Petrokokkinos ( el, Δημήτριος Πετροκόκκινος, 17 April 1878 in Ilford (registered at birth in England as Demetrius Stephen Petrocochino) – 10 May 1942 in Cape Town) was a Greek tennis player. He ...

are listed as a "mixed team". Kasdaglis had British citizenship, but lived in Egypt and was a member of Egyptian clubs, and thus he has been considered by some as an Egyptian Olympian. Two athletes, Arthur Marson and Eugenio Colombani, competed under the Egyptian flag at the 1906 Intercalated Games, which are no longer recognized as Olympic by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), but were considered as such by contemporary sources. The

, founded in 1910, considers Egypt's first Olympic delegation to have been at the 1912 Summer Olympics, which is supported by that year's official report. There is uncertainty, however, as to whether the fencer they sent, Ahmed Hassanein, actually competed, as the official report lists all entrants in the fencing events regardless of their actual participation.

Fencing

According to the official report, Hassanein competed in both the individual

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

and

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...

events. In the former he was part of Pool XIV, which included upcoming bronze medalist Richard Verderber of Austria, and it is recorded only that he did not advance to the quarterfinals. In the latter he was placed in Pool II, which included eventual Olympic champion Paul Anspach of Belgium, and again it is noted only that he did not make it out of the round. Hassanein would go on to compete in both disciplines at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and in épée in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

, but never won a medal.

References

{{Nations at the 1912 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1912 Summer Olympics 1912 Olympics