Islam El Shehaby

Islam El Shehaby ( ʾIslām ash-Shahābī; born 1 August 1982) is an Egyptian former judoka.

El Shehaby competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. El Shehaby was a nine-time African Champion (2002–13), and was a world bronze medalist at the 2010 World Judo Championships. El Shehaby won five World Cup medals, and competitions in Abu Dhabi 2009, Düsseldorf 2010, Moscow 2010, Qingdao 2010, and Baku 2011. El Shehaby won silver at the 2016 Düsseldorf Grand Prix in the +100 kg category.

Following controversy regarding his refusal to shake the hand of Israeli judoka Or Sasson, who defeated him at the 2016 Summer Olympics, El Shehaby retired in August 2016. The Disciplinary Committee of the International Olympic Committee issued a "severe reprimand" to El Shehaby for behavior violating "the rules of fair play and against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic Values," and he was sent home before the Olympics closing ceremony.

Personal life

Islam El Shehaby was born in Cairo, Egypt, and is a conservative Salafi Muslim.

2016 Olympics controversy El Shehaby competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he was thrown twice by and lost to Israeli judoka Or Sasson, who later won a bronze medal in this competition. After the match, El Shehaby refused to bow or shake hands with his opponent, after the Israeli had bowed to him.

After his defeat, El Shehaby lay flat on his back for a moment before standing to take his place before Sasson, in front of the referee. When Sasson extended his hand to the Egyptian, El Shehaby backed away, shaking his head and shunning Sasson. American coach Jimmy Pedro said "That is extremely rare in judo. It is especially disrespectful considering it was a clean throw and a fair match. It was completely dishonourable and totally unsportsmanlike on the part of the Egyptian."

El Shehaby's refusal to shake hands had precedent, in actions by another member of Egypt's team. Egyptian judoka Ramadan Darwish had refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent Arik Zeevi, another Israeli Olympic bronze medalist, in both the 2011 Judo Grand Slam and the 2012 Judo Grand Prix. The Egyptian Olympic Committee stated that El Shehaby was alerted before the match to abide by all the rules and have sporting spirit. The committee also stated that what he did was a personal action.

Both the International Olympic Committee and the International Judo Federation stated that they would review the incident, to see if action should be taken. It is unclear what potential punishment El Shehaby or Egyptian judo as a whole could face, but his hopes of medaling were dashed regardless due to Sasson's decisive performance in the quarterfinals.

Achievements Year Tournament Place Weight class 2016 2016 Summer Olympics DSQ Heavyweight (+100 kg) 2008 African Judo Championships 2nd Heavyweight (+100 kg) 1st Open class 2006 African Judo Championships 2nd Heavyweight (+100 kg) 5th Open class 2005 African Judo Championships 2nd Heavyweight (+100 kg) 2nd Open classMediterranean Games 3rd Heavyweight (+100 kg) 2004 African Judo Championships 3rd Heavyweight (+100 kg) 1st Open class2002 African Judo Championships 1st Heavyweight (+100 kg) 2001 African Judo Championships 2nd Heavyweight (+100 kg) 3rd Open class