Salma Mahmoud El Said Mohamed is an Egyptian female artistic gymnast and part of the national team. She participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, and the 2009 and 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She is a Gymnastics coach in uptown Cairo Egypt. She is a Master’s degree holder and FIG Judge. She has also been an Ex-Egyptian Gymnastics National Team Coach. She has been a two-time African Female Artistic Gymnastic Champion.
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Salma El Saied, an exceptionally talented Egyptian artistic gymnast, and an Egyptian Gymnastics National Team Coach. She talks about her fitness routine, diet, and success story.
Namita Nayyar:
Where were you born, and where did you receive your early education? When did you start training for gymnastics? You participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. This later propelled your career to the height where you became the elite female gymnast from Egypt. Tell us more about your professional journey of exceptional hard work, tenacity, and endurance.
Salma El Saied:
I was born in Giza and started gymnastics when I was 3 years old. My journey in gymnastics was very challenging, even as a child. I trained 6 days a week for four hours or more each day. I joined the Egyptian national gymnastics team when I was 11. I participated in many competitions, and my first international competition was in Jordan in 2004. I continued competing and eventually became a two-time African champion back-to-back. I qualified for the 2012 London Olympics after the World Championships in Japan in 2011. I spent six months in the U.S. at a training camp to prepare for the Olympics, where I trained 10 times a week. It was incredibly difficult during the first two weeks, but I gradually adapted. I was very excited to become an Olympian, which was a dream come true, and I performed well in the competition.
Namita Nayyar:
It is a dream for a gymnast to play in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. You participated in the 2009 and 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Tell us more about this spectacular achievement of yours.
Salma El Saied:
In gymnastics, every athlete’s dream is to qualify for the Olympics. World Championships are a crucial step towards Olympic qualification. I participated in two World Championships; the first one was in 2009, but it wasn’t my best performance. I believe I could have done better, but I consider it a lesson that helped me prepare for future competitions. All athletes experience ups and downs in their careers. After that championship, I improved significantly, and in 2010 and 2011, I won the African Championships, which qualified me for the Olympics through the World Championships in 2011 held in Tokyo, Japan. It was a great competition where I performed at my best. From the entire African continent, only two girls qualify for the top two from the continent in the World Championships, with the condition that they are not from the same country. I was fortunate enough to achieve this and qualify for the Olympics. I wasn’t expecting that to happen but I did it so the hard work paid off finally.
Namita Nayyar:
What is your career as a gymnast acted as a catalyst in your meteoric rise as Egypt’s leading artistic gymnast player?
Salma El Saied:
My family has always been supportive and encouraging in everything. Every athlete needs healthy food, good sleep, transportation to daily training, and time for studying. Many coaches, both Egyptian and foreign, helped me improve my skills.
The Egyptian Gymnastics Federation at that time supported me by allowing me to participate in international competitions, where I interacted with. ‏Competing in these events and achieving foreign athletes, learning from world champions, and experiencing different skill levels results gives us the motivation to strive for improvement and work harder to reach higher levels.
Namita Nayyar:
You are an Ex Egyptian Gymnastics National Team Coach and now pursuing a career as a Gymnastics coach. Tell us more about this endeavor of yours.
Salma El Saied:
Since I stopped competing in gymnastics, I have been a gymnastics coach from 2013 until now. I have been selected several times to coach the national team, and each time I achieved very good results, including in the African Championships, Mediterranean Games, and World Championships. One of my dreams was to lead an athlete to the Olympics and attend the Games as a coach. I contributed to preparing one of the best athletes on the Egyptian team, who has qualified and will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics. I am very proud of her.
I have been recognized as one of the top coaches by important figures in sports. Currently, I work as a fitness coach at the best gym in Egypt, called LA7, and I also provide private gymnastics coaching.
Full Interview is Continued on the Next Page
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