Which Arab athletes won Paralympic gold medals at Paris 2024 Games?

On Sunday night, the curtain came down on a remarkable 2024 Paralympics that has seen Arab athletes enjoy unprecedented success – claiming an unprecedented haul of 55 medals in Paris. Hot on the heels of a memorable Olympics, there were notably 21 gold medals, with the multiple sporting successes spanning eight different countries and 12 different disciplines.

Here Al Arabiya English highlights the stories of every single one of the 19 Arab gold medalist from the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

Raoua Tlili (Tunisia) – Shot Put and Discus

Few Arab athletes have experienced as glittering a career as Tunisian star Tlili, whose two Paralympic gold medals in Paris mean she is now in possession of eight overall, plus a further two silver medals. It is in shot put that Tlili has been particularly dominant, winning five straight golds since her first at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. The Tunisian, who also won discus gold in Paris, is 4ft 4in athlete and 34 years old; generally, she competes against taller and younger athletes. “It’s not easy as a short-stature person of my age… especially if you compete against opponents who are 22, 25 years old,” Tlili said. “The Algerians, the Tunisians – everyone who lives in Paris – came to watch me. [I heard them saying] ‘Raoua, Raoua, gold, gold’.”

Skander Djamil Athmani (Algeria) 100m and 400m

Algeria finished as the leading Arab nation in the Paralympic medal table with six golds and two of those were thanks to 32-year-old Athmani. The Algerian athlete, who initially competed in able-bodied events at the start of his career, clinched men’s 100m T13 gold before successfully also defending his 400m T13 crown four days later. It capped a remarkable year for 400m world record holder Athmani, who has now won double gold at both the World Para Athletics Championships and the Paralympics in 2024.

Abdulrahman Al Quraishi (Saudi Arabia) – 100m

Saudi Arabia’s leading medal hope delivered in style with a spectacular victory in the 100m T53 final. Three years ago, in Tokyo he had to make do with bronze but after winning gold at last year’s Asian Games and this year’s World Para Athletics Championships, Al-Qurashi completed his set in Paris by pipping long-time rival Pongsakorn Paeyo of Thailand. The Saudi’s winning time of 14.48 was his best ever as he became only the second athlete from the Kingdom – after triple jumper Osamah al-Shanqiti – to claim Paralympic gold.

Faisal Sorour (Kuwait) – Shot Put

Just like Al-Qurashi, Kuwaiti shot putter Sorour turned his 2020 bronze into a gold in Paris, with the 27-year-old crowned Paralympic champion in the F63 category. Sorour’s throw of 15.31m was enough to put him ahead of Great Britain’s Aled Davies (15.15m) and gave Kuwait its first Paralympic gold of the 2024 Games and 12th in the country’s history. Sorour dedicated his gold, achieved on the penultimate day of the Paralympics, to the Kuwaiti people and credited his victory with a “long time of tireless training.”

Marouba Brahmi (Tunisia) – Club Throw

Another Tunisian with a bulging medal collection, Brahmi added a fifth Paralympic gold in Paris – winning the club throw event for the third time in four Games. Brahmi, who has cerebral palsy and competes in the F32 class, had a touch of good fortune with her latest success in Paris, initially finishing with a silver medal before reigning champion and world record holder Roza Kosakowska of Poland was disqualified. It meant both a gold medal and a new world record for Brahmi, whose throw of 29.00m beat Kosakowska’s previous mark.

Najlah Al Dayyeni (Iraq) – Table Tennis

Iraq won five medals at the 2024 Paralympics but just one of them was gold, courtesy of teenage table tennis prodigy Al-Dayyeni. The 19-year-old, who was eliminated at the group stage aged 16 in Tokyo, beat Ukrainian opponent and reigning Paralympic champion Maryna Lytovchenko to claim the women’s Singles C6 gold medal. Al-Dayyeni, who also won gold at the Asian Para Games last year, showed steely determination to fight back from a set down to win 3-1 in Paris.

Abdelkareem Khattab (Jordan) – Powerlifting

Jordan is a Paralympic powerlifting powerhouse, adding two golds in Paris to the three it won in Tokyo. One of those belonged to Khattab, who claimed his second successive Paralympic title, claiming gold in the Men’s -97kg category with a massive lift of 270kg. It shattered the Jordanian’s own previous world record of 260kg, which he lifted earlier this year, and saw Khattab become a double Paralympic gold medalist. “After three years of hard work, I came to win the gold medal,” he told reporters after his victory. I’m very, very happy because now I have two gold medals and two world records (in the men’s -88kg and -97kg). Thank you very much, Paris, it has been very nice.”

Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi (Morocco) – Marathon

In the final event of the 2024 Paralympics, Moroccan runner El Idrissi won gold in arguably the Games’ most iconic event: the marathon. Normally a 1500m specialist, who successfully defended her World Championship crown in Paris last year, El Idrissi could only manage silver in the 1500m at the 2024 Paralympics. But determined not to leave the French capital without her first Paralympic gold, El Idrissi dominated the T12 marathon to finish ahead of fellow Moroccan Meryem En-Nourhi and Japan’s Misato Michishita in third. El Idrissi’s time of 2:48:36 smashed the world record – previously held by Michishita – by six minutes.

Wajdi Boukhili (Tunisia) – Marathon

Ensuring an Arab clean sweep of the T12 marathon was Tunisian distance runner Boukhili, who finished in a season’s best time of 2:22:05 to beat Spain’s Alberto Suarez Laso and Paralympic record holder El Amin Chentouf of Morocco. Boukhili’s gold was a first Paralympic success for the 25-year-old, who finished fifth in the 5,000m and sixth in the marathon in Tokyo. The Tunisian fell to the ground and broke down in tears after crossing the finish line in first place ahead of his rivals in Paris.

Safia Djelal (Algeria) – Shot put

An exciting women’s shot put F57 final ended with two Algerians on the podium but it was Djelal who took gold ahead of compatriot Nassima Saifi and China’s Xu Mian. Djelal is a 41-year-old veteran of the Algeria team having competed at – and won gold in – her first Paralympics in Athens back in 2004. That inaugural gold was in javelin but she later switched to shot put and won the Paralympic F57 title in Tokyo before successfully defending it in Paris with a throw of 11.56, setting a new Paralympic record but 6cm shy of her own world record from earlier this year.

Omar Qarada (Jordan) – Powerlifting

Another Jordanian who wrote his name into the Paralympic history books in Paris was veteran lifter Omar Qarada. The 43-year-old was a silver medalist at London 2012 and Rio 2016 but stepped up to win gold in Tokyo three years ago and in Paris managed to retain his Paralympic title in the -49kg category. Also a two-time champion at the Asian Para Games and World Para Powerlifting Championships, Qarada was officially Jordan’s first ever double Paralympic gold medalist, before Khattab emulated him three days later. “Thanks to God, I am the gold medal winner…I have worked hard for it,” Qarada said.

Mouncef Bouja (Morocco) – 400m

After falling just short in his past two World Para Athletics Championships – claiming silvers in the T12 100m in Paris last summer and T12 400m in Kobe earlier this year – Bouja finally delivered on his substantial athletic promise, winning Paralympic gold in the T12 400m. Satisfyingly for Bouja, he held off American Noah Malone – who beat him in France last year – on the final straight to finish first. Bouja’s victory meant a Moroccan won the event for the second straight Paralympics after Abdeslam Hili took gold in Tokyo.

Nassima Saifi (Algeria) – Discus

After just missing out on a third straight Paralympic discus gold in Tokyo, Saifi was never going to settle for another silver this time around. The 35-year-old, who had her left leg amputated when she was 10 after a car accident, regained her Paralympic crown in Paris after a personal best throw of 35.55 saw her finish ahead of China’s Xu Mian and Uzbekistan’s Mokhigul Khamadova. Her third Paralympic gold medal – and sixth overall – was Algeria’s first of its impressive 2024 Games.

Rehab Ahmed (Egypt) – Powerlifting

Egypt is another heavyweight nation in Paralympic powerlifting and provided two gold medalists in Paris. Women’s -55kg champion Ahmed had to settle for silver in both the Rio 2016 Games and Tokyo 2020 but finally claimed her elusive first Paralympic gold in Paris. Her first lift of 117kg would have been enough for gold but she set an even better mark of 121kg to put the exclamation point on her victory. “To get a gold medal at the Paralympic Games has been my aim and dream since I started powerlifting,” said Ahmed, who finished ahead of Turkey’s BEsra Duman and Thailand’s Kamolpan Kraratpet. “I am very, very happy.”

Brahim Guendouz (Algeria) – Kayak

Making history by becoming the first ever African and Arab gold medalist in paracanoeing, Guendouz claimed a thrilling gold in the KL3 kayak classification – finishing ahead of Australia’s Dylan Littlehales and Miqueias Elias Rodrigues of Brazil. “This is Algeria’s first participation and first gold medal,” said Guendouz, whose previous career highlight was a bronze in the 2023 World Championships. “I know that in the next few years, our sport will be developed more and especially in Africa because there are a lot of good athletes.”

Aymane El Haddoui (Morocco) – 400m

Just like their Olympic counterparts, Morocco’s Paralympians have regularly delivered medals on the track and Paris was no different. The country’s second 400m gold of the 2024 Games went to Aymane El Haddoui, who beat compatriot Ayoub Sadni and Brazilian Thomasz Ruan de Moraes to be crowned Paralympic champion in the T47 category. El Haddoui, a student at New Mexico Junior College in the States, also won bronze in the 100m T47.

Mohamed Elmenyawy (Egypt) – Powerlifting

Joining compatriot Ahmed in the winners’ circle in Paris was 25-year-old Elmenyawy, who claimed Egypt’s first gold of the 2024 Paralympics in a fiercely contested -59kg powerlifting final. Elmenyawy, whose previous best result was a bronze medal at the 2023 World Para Weightlifting Championships, lifted 201kg to narrowly put him ahead of China’s Yongkai Qi (200kg) and Iran’s Mohsen Bakhtiar (197kg).

Amen Allah Tissauoui (Tunisia) – 1500m

It has been a breakout year for 19-year-old Tissaoui, who followed up 1500m World Para Championships gold in Kobe earlier this year with a Paralympic winner’s medal in Paris. Competing in the T38 class, teenager Tissaoui produced an impressive sprint down the home straight to hold off Canada’s Nate Riech and Australia’s Reece Langdon, who were only separated from each other by a photo finish.

Abdelkader Bouamer (Algeria) – Judo

Demonstrating that age is no barrier to Paralympic success, 41-year-old judoka Bouamer grabbed gold in the -60kg men’s judo event in Paris. Making his debut at the Paralympics, Bouamer won three contests to reach the final, where he beat Iran’s Meysam Banitaba at the iconic Champs de Mar Arena, which has been set up in front of the Eiffel Tower for the Olympics and Paralympics. Bouamer overcame an early yellow card to claim a close-fought 1-0 victory and his first Paralympic gold.