Ibrahim Hassanien Shams (January 16, 1917 – January 16, 2001) was an Egyptian

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

who competed in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

and in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. He was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. In 1936 he won the bronze medal in the featherweight class. Due to the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and cancellation of the Olympics in both 1940 and 1944, he was forced to wait until the

to prove himself again. He received a gold medal by lifting a total of 360 kg in the lightweight event. He was the second

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 Mediter ...

ian to earn two medals, after

Farid Simaika Farid Simaika ( ar, فريد سميكة 12 June 1907 – 11 September 1943) was an Olympic diver who competed for Egypt. Early life Simaika was born on 12 June 1907 in Alexandria to one of the oldest Coptic families which can trace their ance ...

, who earned them in diving at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. Shams was the first to win two medals at two different Olympic tournaments.

International success

*1936, bronze medal, 1936 Berlin, Featherweight, with 300 kg, behind Anthony Terlazzo, USA, 312.5 kg and Saleh Soliman, Egypt, 305 kg. *1938, World Championships in Vienna, Lightweight, with three invalid attempts. *1946, 5 course, world championship in Paris, Featherweight, with 295 kg. *1948, Gold Medal, 1948 London, with 360 kg, behind

Attia Hamouda Attia Hamouda (1914 – 1992) was a lightweight (60-67.5 kg) on the Egyptian weightlifting team at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He earned a silver medal for Egypt after lifting a record of 360 kg. He lost to his team mat ...

, Egypt, with 360 kg but heavier and James Halliday, United Kingdom, with 340 kg. *1949, The World Cup in Cheveningen, lightweight, with 352.5 kg, behind Joe Pitman, USA, with 342.5 kg and Arvid Andersson, Sweden, with 322.5 kg. *1951, The World Cup in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, lightweight, with 342.5 kg, behind Joe Pitman, 337.5 kg and

Ferdows Ferdows ( fa, فردوس, also Romanized as Ferdos, Ferdous, and Firdaus; named Toon or Tūn until 1929) is a city and capital of Ferdows County, located in the north of South Khorasan Province in Iran. It is about south of Mashhad and 200 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

with 327.5 kg. *1951, The Mediterranean Games in Alexandria, with 342.5 (95.0, 112.0, 135.0) kg, behind Ermanno Pignati, Italy, 307.5 (85.0, 100.0, 122.5) kg, and Bahjat Dalloul,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

300.0 (95.0, 95.5, 112.5) kg.

References

* 1917 births 2001 deaths Egyptian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Egypt Weightlifters at the 1936 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Egypt Olympic bronze medalists for Egypt World record setters in weightlifting Olympic medalists in weightlifting Sportspeople from Alexandria Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century Egyptian people 21st-century Egyptian people {{Egypt-weightlifting-bio-stub