Qatar Olympic Committee President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, poses for a photograph with Fares Ibrahim after the Qatari weightlifter won the country's first ever Olympic gold medal on Saturday.
After making his debut at the Rio Olympics 2016 as a teenager, weightlifting star Fares Ibrahim made a promise to the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani that he will win a gold medal at Tokyo Games. Five years on, the 23-year-old has etched his name in the history books by becoming the first ever gold medallist for Qatar in Olympic Games.
“My preparations started for Tokyo right after my participation at Rio Olympics as the youngest competitor ended. I promised His Excellency Sheikh Joaan at the time that I will win a gold medal. Since then we were working tirelessly to achieve this accolade,” Fares told a media delegation in Tokyo yesterday.
“This year I hardly took 10 days off as it was all about hours of training and preparations with a gold medal in Tokyo in our sights. Thanks to Allah that I was able to achieve the task,” he added.
Fares won the 96kg category gold, setting two Olympic records including a total of 402kg and clean and jerk lift of 225kg on Saturday. The 23-year-old’s feat was followed by celebration throughout the Qatar led by the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who also gave a congratulatory call to the Qatari star.
“I did not sleep for three days because of the excitement and joy after winning gold medal for Qatar. I will remain proud for the rest of my life to make the Qatari people happy. His Highness the Amir’s call was a big honour for me and it has motivated to prepare for Paris 2024. I will do my best to win second gold medal for Qatar,” he added.
The weightlifter said support from the QOC President and his family particularly his father Ibrahim, a former Olympian, was key to his success in Tokyo.
“My parents have been very supportive, especially my father deserves most of the credit of what I’ve achieved. He always supports me no matter what I am going through. His Excellency Sheikh Joaan’s continuous support and his presence during the competition lifted my moral,” he added.
After sealing gold, Fares attempted a world record clean and jerk lift of 232kg but did not succeed. However, he is eyeing to set the record in future events.
“Between each attempt there is a time of two minutes which is a very short break. My previous lift was 225kg and that was an Olympic record. I needed four to five minutes and if we had that time I would have lifted 232kg,” he said.
“I am looking forward to break the world record as soon as possible."
He said the Tokyo field was tough but preparations made the gold medal possible.
“We were very confident of winning because we covered all aspects during our preparations. But like in other sports, surprises are possible in weightlifting. For example we were not expecting a competition from Venezuela’s Keydomar Vallenilla Sanchez, who ended up as silver medallist,” he added.
Fares, who loves equestrian besides weightlifting, said before events he read books and during breaks in competitions he loves to spend his time on PlayStation.
He said he loves steak before adding fish is the main meal during training camps and before the events.
