An event celebrating women in sport took place at the Olympic Training Complex in the Cairo district of Maadi and formed part of the long-term project “Czech and Egyptian Heroines.”
The opening panel featured former Czech professional basketball player and current head of the Commission for Equal Opportunities in Sport Ilona Burgrová, who addressed gender equality in sport. Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy subsequently discussed the conditions of female athletes in Egypt. The event was also opened by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Ivan Jukl, together with the Minister of Youth and Sports.
Three athletes shared their inspiring stories with the audience: Abeer Abdel Rahman Khalil, an Olympic medalist and weightlifter who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games; Soraya Mohamed, a basketball player ranked among the world’s top ten players in 3x3 basketball and the best three-point shooter at the 2018 African Championship; and Ebtissam Zayed, a cyclist who has won numerous medals in African and international competitions.
Joining online were Yara Shalaby, an Egyptian champion in desert racing, and Bassant Hemida, a member of the Egyptian national athletics team between 2012 and 2020. They were complemented by two Czech athletes: tennis player Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and Kristiina Mäki, the current Czech record holder in the 1500, 2000, 3000 and 5000 metre races.
The event also included a screening of the documentary film Lift Like a Girl, which follows the story of a young weightlifter from Alexandria. The screening was followed by a discussion with the film’s director, Mayye Zayed.
The well-attended event was organized by the Czech Centres in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the National Sports Agency of the Czech Republic. The foyer of the complex was also decorated with the travelling exhibition of the project Czech and Egyptian Heroines.
