Cyclist Shahd Saeed apologized for stepping down to represent Egypt in the 2024 Paris Olympics after an investigation into her injuring fellow cyclist Janna Eliwa was reopened.
During an interview with Ahmed Moussa’s show “Ala Massoulity” (By My Responsibility) on Saturday, Saeed, in tears, declared that she will not participate in the Paris Olympics following backlash from social media at her inclusion.
“I was hoping to represent Egypt in the Olympics and to crown the great efforts I have made over the past three years by participating in this global event, but I will not play again,” she said.
This follows after Saeed was referred for investigation by the Public Prosecution on charges of intentionally attempting to kill her colleague Eliwa, in the Republic Championship in April.
Footage spread online shows Saeed swerving into her colleague Eliwa, who fell from her bike in the last few meters.
Egyptian news reports said that Eliwa suffered injuries including a broken shoulder, several bruises, and a concussion.
Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy said on Saturday that this Eliwa dispute will be resolved on Sunday, through the Egyptian Olympic Committee headed by Yasser Idris.
He expressed his hopes that all members of the Egyptian delegation in the Olympics will meet success.
Idris meanwhile confirmed that he would announce a statement of account in advance before traveling with the names nominated to win Olympic medals.
Egypt is participating with the largest delegation of male and female players in the Paris Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 14.
This year saw the number of qualified players rise to 139 male and female players, exceeding the largest Egyptian delegation that participated in the Olympics in Tokyo 2020, which then reached 134 male and female players.
