Ibrahim Moustafa

Moustafa Ibrahim (Arabic إبراهيم مصطفى ) ( born April 20, 1904 in Alexandria, † October 11, 1968 ) was an Egyptian wrestler. He was Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in heavyweight.

Career

Ibrahim Moustafa learned as a teenager in Alexandria to a carpenter. While working he saw in an outbuilding young men in wrestling. He was interested in it and learned that these young men were from the Armenian minority in Egypt and trained at Al- Gomrak Club Alexandria. He then began also with the rings, but first he measured his strength with his friends. Later he enlisted in to the Olympic Club Alexandria and grew to become an outstanding wrestler in the Greco- Roman style.

After winning several awards and the Egyptian Cup in 1924, he was seconded to the Olympic Games this year, to Paris. He started there in the light heavyweight and came in his first three fights to win. Then he met the experienced Swedish top wrestler Carl Wester Green and Rudolf Svensson, against which he was subject. He finished 4th and thus missed out on a medal.

Four years later he was also at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam at the start. Meanwhile, 24 years old, he was forces and technology moderately matured tremendously. This got his opponent to feel, because Ibrahim Moustafa defeated one after the other from Belgium Nicolas Appels, A. Sefik from Turkey, Einar Hansen from Denmark, Onni Pellinen from Finland and in the battle for the gold medal Adolf Rieger from Germany. He thus became the first African Olympic champion.

After the Olympic Games in 1928 Ibrahim Moustafa was initially unemployed. When this became known in the Egyptian public, was made ​​sure that he got a coach spot at Olympic Club in Alexandria. In 1929 he was staying at the invitation of the Swedish Association of Ringer on a competition trip to Scandinavia. He was able to achieve some nice results, but not as dominant as 1928. In a tournament in Copenhagen, he had, for example, also by the German European Champion Robert Rupp accept defeat.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, GR = Greco-Roman style, Hs = light heavyweight until 1928 to 82.5 kg thereafter up to 87 kg body weight)