Arab Athletes on Day 5 of the Mediterranean Games

Arab athletes continued their strong showing at the Mediterranean Games, with Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia combining for nine medals on Day 5, bringing the Arab total to 44 medals so far.

The 20th edition of the Mediterranean Games brings together athletes from 26 countries across a wide-ranging programme of sports, with competition running from August 21st to September 3rd across Taranto and the surrounding areas of Puglia.

Tunisia led the Arab results with four medals, while Algeria added three and Egypt two. Wrestling once again played a major role, while Tunisia also found success in precision shooting and pétanque.

Gold: Samar Hamza, Egypt

Hamza claimed gold in the women’s -76kg freestyle wrestling competition. She defeated Italy’s Laura Godino 4–1 in the semifinal before going on to win the final, while Godino later secured silver.

Gold: Achref Zouaoui, Tunisia

Zouaoui won gold in the men’s precision shooting event in boules sport. The Tunisian became the second athlete from his country to win gold at the Games, adding another title to Tunisia’s growing medal collection.

Bronze: Mouda Badawi, Egypt

Badawi secured bronze in the women’s -62kg freestyle wrestling competition, giving Egypt two medals from the wrestling programme. Her podium finish came alongside Hamza’s gold in the -76kg category.

Bronze: Ibtissem Doudou, Algeria

Doudou took bronze in the women’s -50kg freestyle wrestling competition. The Algerian has represented her country at the Olympics and is a multiple-time African Championship medallist, adding another international podium to her résumé.

Bronze: Cheima Chebila, Algeria

Chebila claimed bronze in the women’s -53kg freestyle wrestling competition, joining Doudou on the podium. The two medals gave Algeria its first two wrestling medals of the day.

Bronze: Noor Maidi, Algeria

Maidi won bronze in the women’s Raffa singles competition. Her result gave Algeria its third medal of the day and its only podium finish outside wrestling.

Bronze: Zaineb Sghaier, Tunisia

Sghaier took bronze in the women’s 68kg freestyle wrestling competition. The Tunisian reached the semifinals before losing to Italy’s Laura Godino, then secured the bronze medal on the final day of the wrestling competition.

Bronze: Mouna Béji, Tunisia

Béji claimed bronze in the women’s precision shooting event in pétanque, defeating Italy’s Sara Ferreira 43–40 in the classification match. She had narrowly lost her semifinal to France’s Nelly Peyré, 37–36.

Bronze: Mouna Béji & Ahlem Haj Hassan, Tunisia

Béji won her second bronze of the night alongside Hassan in the women’s doubles pétanque competition. The duo added a second podium finish for Tunisia in pétanque, completing the country’s four-medal day.