| Birth Date: | 9 February 1984 |
| Weight: | 125kg (276lb) |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Discus |
| Updated: | 12 August 2012 |
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.[1]
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.[2] In 2000, aged 16, he was selected for the Egyptian team for the World Junior Championships, where he finished in 17th.[1] That year he also won the Arab Championships with a throw of 53.07 m.[1] At the 2002 World Junior Championships, a poor result of 10th was due to a shoulder injury.[1] In 2003, his final year as a junior, he set a new junior world record of 65.88.[1]
His personal best throw is 66.58 metres, achieved in June 2007 in Helsingborg. This is the current national record.[3] In 2007, he also became the first Egyptian athlete to reach the final of an event at the Athletics World Championships.[1]
His 2008 season did not go as well due to a series of injuries.[1]
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.[4] He again reached the final, but could only achieve 9th place.
His 2010 season was again marred by injury.[1]
| Representing | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| African Junior Championships | Réduit, Mauritius | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 49.79 m | ||
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 10th | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 58.20 m | ||
| African Championships | Radès, Tunisia | 3rd | Discus throw | 48.17 m | |||
| 2003 | African Junior Championships | Garoua, Cameroon | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw (1.75 kg) | 61.87 m | |
| Universiade | Daegu, South Korea | 9th | Discus throw | 55.15 m | |||
| All-Africa Games | Abuja, Nigeria | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 63.61 m | ||
| Afro-Asian Games | Hyderabad, India | 3rd | Discus throw | 59.77 m | |||
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 33rd (q) | Discus throw | 55.53 m | ||
| Pan Arab Games | Algiers, Algeria | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 61.06 m | ||
| 2005 | Islamic Solidarity Games | Mecca, Saudi Arabia | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 59.89 m | |
| Universiade | İzmir, Turkey | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Discus throw | 62.28 m | ||
| 2006 | African Championships | Bambous, Mauritius | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 61.11 m | |
| World Cup | Athens, Greece | 4th | Discus throw | 61.50 m | |||
| 2007 | All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 62.28 m | |
| Universiade | Bangkok, Thailand | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Discus throw | 60.89 m | ||
| World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 6th | Discus throw | 64.58 m | |||
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 23rd (q) | Discus throw | 60.24 m | ||
| 2009 | Berlin, Germany | 9th | Discus throw | 62.83 m | |||
| Beirut, Lebanon | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 61.01 m | |||
| 2010 | Nairobi, Kenya | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Discus throw | 59.30 m | ||