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 ...
competed in the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...
for the first, and only, time at the
1984 Winter Olympics in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
,
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
. Its only participant was alpine skier
Jamil El Reedy, who competed in three disciplines, but did not win a medal.
Background
Prior to 1984, Egypt had sent athletes to eleven editions of the Summer Olympic Games (three times as the
United Arab Republic), the 1906 Intercalated Games, and equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
[Th]
1912 Olympic report
lists Egypt as having sent a fencer to those Games, but there i
uncertainty
as to whether he actually competed. The 1984 Winter Games were Egypt's first, and only, appearance at the Winter Olympics. The nation entered one athlete,
Jamil El-Reedy, to the
alpine skiing tournament, where he competed in three disciplines, but failed to win a medal.
Alpine skiing
El-Reedy was born in Cairo,
to an Egyptian father and an American mother who taught English at the
American University in Cairo. He moved to
Plattsburgh,
New York when his family left Egypt following the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
.
Coached by his father, he became a successful skier in high school, training on
Whiteface Mountain. He was selected to represent Egypt at the 1984 Games at the age of 18, despite never having competed internationally, and in preparation spent 40 days in an Egyptian cave filled with snakes and scorpions to strengthen his mental resolve.
At the Games he competed in three events, with his best placement being 46th out of 101 entrants in the
men's slalom. He was also 60th out of 61 participants in the
men's downhill, finishing over a minute behind the penultimate finisher, Greece's
Lazaros Arkhontopoulos, and failed to finish the
men's giant slalom after a fall on the first run.
;Men
References
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egypt At The 1984 Winter Olympics
Nations at the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984
1984 in Egyptian sport