# Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly

Omar Ahmed El Ghazaly (born 9 February 1984 in Cairo) is an Egyptian discus thrower.
He originally played handball, while his siblings were on the Egyptian national swimming team.
In 1999 he was recruited by former African shot put champion Nagui Asaad, who was setting up a throwing school that also included hammer thrower Mohsen El Anany and shot putter Yasser Fathy. After having a try with the different implements, he settled for the discus and rapidly made his debut in the national team. In 2000, aged 16, he was selected for the Egyptian team for the World Junior Championships, where he finished in 17th. That year he also won the Arab Championships with a throw of 53.07 m. At the 2002 World Junior Championships, a poor result of 10th was due to a shoulder injury. In 2003, his final year as a junior, he set a new junior world record of 65.88.
His personal best throw is 66.58 metres, achieved in June 2007 in Helsingborg. This is the current national record. In 2007, he also became the first Egyptian athlete to reach the final of an event at the Athletics World Championships.
His 2008 season did not go as well due to a series of injuries.
In June 2009, El Ghazaly gave a strong showing at a meeting in Sollentuna, Sweden, registering a number of throws over 65 metres and winning with 66.34 m. This was an African season's best throw and highlighted him as a possible finalist for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He again reached the final, but could only achieve 9th place.
His 2010 season was again marred by injury.

## Achievements

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing Egypt ||||||
| 2000 | World Junior Championships | Santiago, Chile | 17th (q) | Discus | 50.43 m |
| 2001 | World Youth Championships | Debrecen, Hungary | 3rd | Discus throw (1.5 kg) | 61.06 m |
| 2001 | African Junior Championships | Réduit, Mauritius | 2nd | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 49.79 m |
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 10th | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 58.20 m |
| 2002 | African Championships | Radès, Tunisia | 3rd | Discus throw | 48.17 m |
| 2003 | African Junior Championships | Garoua, Cameroon | 1st | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 61.87 m |
| 2003 | Universiade | Daegu, South Korea | 9th | Discus throw | 55.15 m |
| 2003 | All-Africa Games | Abuja, Nigeria | 1st | Discus throw | 63.61 m |
| 2003 | Afro-Asian Games | Hyderabad, India | 3rd | Discus throw | 59.77 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 33rd (q) | Discus throw | 55.53 m |
| 2004 | Pan Arab Games | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | Discus throw | 61.06 m |
| 2005 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Mecca, Saudi Arabia | 1st | Discus throw | 59.89 m |
| 2005 | Universiade | İzmir, Turkey | 2nd | Discus throw | 62.28 m |
| 2006 | African Championships | Bambous, Mauritius | 1st | Discus throw | 61.11 m |
| 2006 | World Cup | Athens, Greece | 4th | Discus throw | 61.50 m |
| 2007 | All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | Discus throw | 62.28 m |
| 2007 | Universiade | Bangkok, Thailand | 2nd | Discus throw | 60.89 m |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 6th | Discus throw | 64.58 m |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 23rd (q) | Discus throw | 60.24 m |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 9th | Discus throw | 62.83 m |
| 2009 | Jeux de la Francophonie | Beirut, Lebanon | 1st | Discus throw | 61.01 m |
| 2010 | African Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 1st | Discus throw | 59.30 m |