Fatma Omar (born 17 November 1973) is an Egyptian powerlifter competing in the -56 kg category. She is a dominant power in her sport, winning gold in her event in four

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

, and another four gold medals at the IPC Powerlifting World Championships.

Personal history

Omar was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, Egypt in 1973. At the age of one she was contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

, which resulted in spinal damage. She has two daughters.

Powerlifting career

Omar first represented her country at the 1998 IPC Powerlifting World Championships, held in Dubai. She entered one of the lowest weight categories, the 44 kg, winning the gold medal. Following this success she was selected to compete at the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. At the Sydney Games she competed in the 44 kg weight class taking the gold medal with a lift of 109 kg, beating Lucy Ogechukwu Ejike of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Four years later at the Athens Games, Omar moved up to the 56 kg class. She outclassed the field with a lift of 127.5 kg. At the

2008 Beijing Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, Omar again competed at the 56 kg level. She broke the world record with a winning lift of 141.5 kg. After her win in Beijing, Nigeria's Lucy Ejike stated that she would move up to Omar's weight division to challenge for the 56 kg weight class. This led to a showdown at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with her rival from Athens. Ejike took the lead in the first round with a lift of 135 kg but she was unable to better this attempt, while Omar improved her record from Beijing with a final lift of 142 kg taking her fourth gold medal. Four years later Ejike and Omar met for the third time at a Paralympic Games, when thy both entered the 2016 Games in Rio. After London the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...

changed the powerlifting weight categories for both men and women, and the two competed in the women's 61 kg division. The year previous Mexico's

Amalia Perez Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) *Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...

had set a world record in the 61 kg with a lift of 133 kg, which Ejike surpassed with her first lift of 135 kg. Omar had failed at 133 kg on her first lift, but was successful at the same weight on her second attempt. Ejike improved her lead with her second lift, setting her second world record of the day with a weight of 138 kg. Omar responded with a final lift of 140 kg, putting Ejike into silver medal place. Unfortunately for Omar, Ejike lifted 142 kg to leave Omar with the silver medal for the first time in her Paralympic career. She won the bronze medal in her event at the

2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships The 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships was a powerlifting competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Tbilisi, Georgia (country), Georgia from 27 November to 5 December. It was previously scheduled to be held in Batumi, Geor ...

held in Tbilisi, Georgia.

References

External links