Egyptians were busy talking last week about the comeback to the arena of wrestler, Karam Gaber, 44.
This coincided with Gaber winning the gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Veteran World Championship in Greece.
He deservedly defeated his Kazakh competitor, Yessentay Khapar, in the final match of the championship in the 88-kg weight category.
Gaber had last competed in Greece 19 years ago.
Evgenii Glazkov and Karapet Kirakosyan of Sweden won bronze medals each.
Gaber is the most popular wrestler in Egypt. He made history by winning a gold medal for his country in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
This victory followed 50 years of Egyptian failure to win the gold medal in the Olympics.
Gaber also won the silver medal in London in 2012 after a famous refereeing error.
He recently announced his return to wrestling, after a 7-year hiatus. He is apparently making this comeback to write history as he always did.
Egyptian Wrestling Federation officials invited Gaber to join the Egyptian national wrestling team and participate in the African Championship qualifying competitions for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The championship is scheduled to be held in Cairo in April next year.
The Egyptian Olympic Committee honoured Gaber after making his latest achievement in the Veteran World Championship.
Gaber entered the wrestling world at the age of seven at Obour Youth Centre.
He participated in the Alexandria Junior Championship in 1989. His weight at the time was 26 kilograms.
He then moved to Al-Nasr Youth Centre. During his five years of presence in the centre, Gaber won almost all the national championships where he participated.
He then moved to the Olympic Club in the northern coastal city of Alexandria, before joining the Egyptian national wrestling team in 1995.
Gaber won his first gold medal in 1997 at the Arab Youth Championship which was held in Syria.
He also won a gold medal in the Beirut International Championship, a bronze medal in the Mediterranean Games in Italy, and a bronze medal in the World Youth Championship in Finland.
Gaber rose to stardom in 1998 when he won the gold medal at the African Championship in Cairo.
He also won a bronze medal at the World Youth Championship in Cairo as well, along with another bronze medal in the Grand Prix Championship.
Gaber also won the gold medal in the FahmiEmri tournament in Turkiye in the 97-kg weight category.
In 1999, he won the gold medal at the African Games in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the 97-kg weight category.
In 2001, Gaber won the gold medal in the Intercontinental Championship and the Best Wrestler Cup for the same year.
He won the gold medal in the Spanish Championship, the gold medal in the Austrian International Championship, the gold medal in the 10th Arab Championship in Syria, and the gold medal in the Mediterranean Games in Tunisia.
In 2002, Gaber achieved his second title in the Arab Championship in Qatar, the gold medal in the African Championship in Cairo and the gold medal in the Confederations World Cup.
In 2003, he won the gold medal at the David Schultz Championship in the US, the silver medal at the World Championships in France, the gold medal at the Ptlasinski Championship in Poland, and the gold at the African Games.
His participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a failure due to his lack of preparedness and a dispute with the Egyptian Wrestling Federation.
Gaber faced many obstacles that caused him to call it quits.
His latest return to the arena was surprising to many because of his age, but his victories prove that where there is a will, there is always a way.
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