Mohammed Khamis Haidar Hamada ( ar, محمد خميس حيدر حمادة; born 14 March 2002) is a Palestinian weightlifter from

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon * Ghazzeh, a village in ...

. He was the first Palestinian to compete in the sport at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Career

Hamada participated in the men's 96-kilogram event at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, making him the first-ever weightlifter from Palestine to compete at the Olympics. He finished 13th. Hamada left Gaza several weeks before the Olympics to avoid traveling issues, having secured his place after participating in six international qualifying contests since 2019. His brother Hussam is the Palestinian national weightlifting team coach. He was the flag bearer of Palestine's Olympic National Team during the

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. In 2022, Hamada won gold and bronze in the IWF Weightlifting Junior World Championships held in Heraklion, Greece. In 2024, Hamada injured his knee and lost around carrying water during the ongoing Israel–Hamas war and

Gaza genocide Israel has been accused by experts, governments, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people during its invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip as part of the ongoing I ...

. He thus failed to qualify for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

in Paris. A documentary film chronicles his journey during the

, which included having to eat animal feed to survive.

References

External links

* Living people 2002 births Palestinian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Palestine Weightlifters at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Palestinian sportsmen Sportspeople from Gaza City {{Palestine-weightlifting-bio-stub