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How Rehab Ahmed turned pain into power

The Egyptian powerlifting queen delivered a dominant performance at the first-ever World Championships held in Africa, securing her fifth consecutive world title after returning from injury 27 Nov 2025
An athlete goes for a lift
Egypt's Rehab Ahmed lifted 131kg in the women's up to 61kg category to secure her fifth world title in front of a roaring home crowd.
ⒸHiroki Nishioka / WPPO
By Filip Ozbolt l For World Para Powerlifting

Just over a month ago, the curtains came down on the Cairo 2025 World Para Powerlifting Championships after 10 days of thrilling action in Egypt’s capital.

The historic event — the first-ever World Championships to be held in Africa — began with the Rookie & Next Gen competition from 9 to 10 October, followed by the Elite event from 11 to 18 October.

Among the highlights of the Championships, especially for the home crowd, was Rehab Ahmed’s fifth consecutive world title — this time outside her usual women’s up to 50kg and 55kg categories.

A golden day for Egypt

The 34-year-old Egyptian icon clinched gold with two successful lifts: the first in round one (125kg) and the second in round two (131kg), which was already enough to secure the top of the podium.

In her final attempt, Ahmed went for 136kg but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the result marked a huge achievement, considering she had only four months to prepare for the World Championships.

“At the Paralympic Games in Paris, I had an injury during the bench press. I still won gold there, but I didn’t achieve a good result. In Cairo, I got a strong result and proved that I’m back in Para powerlifting. This medal means a lot — it’s my fifth World Championships title. I’m really proud and happy. I promise you — in Los Angeles, I will win another gold medal,” said Ahmed, who won her first Paralympic gold in Paris (up to 55kg) before taking a long break from the sport.


Comeback after Paris injury

“After returning from Paris, I stayed at home for nine months doing physical therapy and recovery to get back to full strength. Now I’m back and competing again. My goal for Los Angeles is to set a new world record and win another gold medal.”

Although she previously competed at the Cairo 2022 African Open Championships and at the World Cups hosted by Egypt in 2023 and 2024, for Ahmed, competing at the home World Championships felt entirely different.

“I’m proud of Egypt for hosting such an amazing competition. It felt special to lift at home. I felt very comfortable because I’m at home. I didn’t have to change anything about my routine, so I was more relaxed and able to focus better,” said Ahmed about the first-ever World Championships held in Africa.

Living in Cairo, approximately two hours away from the New Capital Sports City Hall, Ahmed unfortunately did not have her family and friends in the crowd. Her mother and daughter watched the competition on TV and cheered from home.

Together with Team Egypt

Unlike Sherif Osman, who commuted from home for the competition, Ahmed chose to stay with Team Egypt throughout the championships — and judging by the result, it clearly paid off.

“I wanted to do everything together with them — training, preparation, and competition. We are one team, and I don’t want to do things differently,” emphasised the athlete, who still enjoyed huge support inside the hall even without her family present.


Ahmed hopes to give her fans more reasons to be proud, with her long-term goal already set in stone.

“With three years ahead until Los Angeles, I will train even harder to set a new world record and win gold again. I also want to thank my family — especially my mother and my daughter — for their prayers and support. I’m so happy, and I dedicate this gold medal to them.”

Before Los Angeles, the African Open Championships in 2026 and the Bahrain 2026 World Para Powerlifting Championships await Ahmed, where she will aim to defend her title from Cairo.
 

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