Weightlifter, Sara Samir, had her most disappointing moment in 2019 when she was suspended on suspicion of doping.
This was during the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.
The suspension was especially frustrating to Samir, 24 now, because a year earlier, she won a record number of medals.
She won three gold medals in the Junior and Youth World Championship, which was held at Cairo Stadium.
She won two gold medals in the Mediterranean Games in Spain and the Junior World Weightlifting Championship in Uzbekistan in the same year.
Three years ahead of her suspension, Samir was a medalist at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
However, her frustrations came to an end only in January this year when the International Weightlifting Federation ended her suspension.
“I am back,” Samir said triumphantly. “I will do my best to return to my pre-suspension level,” she told the Egyptian Mail in an interview.
Samir is now resolved more than ever before to revive her past glories.
She hopes she can participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite her young age, Samir is one of the nation’s most budding female weightlifters.
She has the highest record for an Egyptian, Arab and African female weightlifter.
Weightlifting has always been part of Samir’s family circle. Her father was a national weightlifting champion and her brother too.
“I grew up seeing my father and my brother playing this sport,” Samir said.
This was why it was no surprise for those knowing the family to see Samir picking up the same sport.
She started inviting everybody’s attention in 2012 when she won three gold medals at the African Youth Championships in Tunisia. She also won three other medals in the Junior African Championships.
In 2013, Samir won gold and bronze medals in the Mediterranean Games in Turkey, as well as three gold medals in the Junior World Championship in Uzbekistan.
She won another gold medal in the Grand Prix Championship in Qatar.
In Rio, she won her first Olympic medal in 2016.
Having returned from the tournament, she was warmly received by the Ismailia governor who gave her a message of congratulations from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($27,000).
Before her suspension, she won three gold medals in the African Games and three gold medals in African champions.
As she prepares for the weightlifting challenges ahead, Samir hopes she can get everybody’s support.
“I am badly in need of support from everybody,” Samir said. “This support will be my fuel in the days to come.”
