Alaaeldin Mohamed El-Sayed Abouelkassem (; born 25 November 1990) is an Egyptian fencer who won a silver medal in the men's foil event at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He took up fencing at the age of eight and, in 2008, began fencing internationally, winning medals at the African and World Junior Championships, as well as the Junior World Cup, before progressing to the senior level in 2011 and capturing bronze at the Fleuret de St-Petersbourg. Later that year, he earned gold medals at the

2011 Pan Arab Games The 2011 Arab Games also known as the 12th Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar from 6 to 23 December 2011. This was the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event. Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for the comp ...

in the individual and team foil events before progressing to the 2012 Summer Games, where he won Africa's first-ever Olympic fencing medal.

Early life

Abouelkassem was born on 25 November 1990 in

Sétif Sétif () is the capital city of the Sétif Province and the 5th most populous city of Algeria, with an estimated population of 1.866.845 in 2017). It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is c ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

to an

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian father and an

n mother and moved to Egypt at the age of four. Growing up in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, he first became athletically involved in swimming and karate before beginning his training in fencing aged eight in the city's Al-Selah Al-Sakandry club. After successes in the sport at a young age, he was forced to give it up upon entering the

Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport The Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT) or (AAST) () is a regional university operated by the Arab League, which runs programs in marine transportation, business, and engineering. AASTMT started as a notion in the ...

, as the program was too demanding for him to pursue engineering studies and fencing. He was soon re-discovered by his former coach, Mohamed El-Sayed, who nominated him to join the national team.

Career

Abouelkassem's international career began in 2008, when he captured a gold medal in

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 ma ...

fencing at the African Junior Championships and bronze at the World Junior Fencing Championships in Italy, in addition to one third-place finish at the Junior Fencing World Cup. At the 2009 Junior Fencing World Cup, he earned another third-place win and followed up with gold one year later at the 2010 World Junior Fencing Championships. He earned his first World Cup medal as a senior, bronze, at the 2011 Fleuret de St-Petersbourg, and captured gold at the

in the individual and team foil events. Abouelkassem qualified for the

and entered the individual foil event in the round of 32, defeating American

Miles Chamley-Watson Miles Chamley-Watson (born December 3, 1989) is a British-American right-handed foil fencer. He is a 13-time team Pan American Games, Pan American champion, 2019 team world champion, 2013 individual world champion, three-time Olympic Games, Oly ...

15–10. He had the same result against

Peter Joppich Peter Joppich (born 21 December 1982) is a German 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 f ...

of Germany and

Andrea Cassarà Andrea Cassarà (born 3 January 1984) is an Italian left-handed foil fencer, two-time individual European champion, 2011 individual world champion, and three-time Olympics medalist. In February 2025, he was convicted of intended illicit interfe ...

of Italy in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively, before moving on to defeat Choi Byung-Chul of South Korea 15–12 in the semi-finals. Abouelkassem lost the gold medal match 13–15 to

Lei Sheng Lei Sheng (; born 7 March 1984) is a Chinese left-handed foil fencer, six-time team Asian champion, 2012 individual Asian champion, two-time team world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion. Career Lei took up fen ...

of China, but the silver medal he won was the first Olympic fencing medal for a competitor representing an African nation. He also participated in the team foil event, where the British team eliminated the Egyptians by a score of 45–33 in the opening round. At the

2013 Mediterranean Games The 2013 Mediterranean Games (), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 in Mersin, Turkey. Mersin was announced as the host cit ...

, Abouelkassem won a bronze medal in the individual foil. , he is coached by Paul Kantorsky of Poland. At the

2015 African Games The 11th African Games (), also known as Brazzaville 2015, took place from September 4–19, 2015 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. This edition marked the 50th anniversary of the Games, as well as their return to Brazzaville, which hosted t ...

he won gold medals in the men's individual and team foil events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abouelkassem, Alaaeldin 1990 births Living people Egyptian male foil fencers Olympic fencers for Egypt Olympic silver medalists for Egypt Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Egyptian people of Algerian descent Olympic medalists in fencing Sportspeople from Sétif Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport alumni Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Egypt Fencers at the 2013 Mediterranean Games African Games gold medalists for Egypt African Games medalists in fencing Mediterranean Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2015 African Games Fencers at the 2019 African Games Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2022 Mediterranean Games 21st-century Egyptian sportsmen Arab Games gold medalists Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics