Egypt won 13 of the 15 gold medals available at the Arab Weightlifting Championships in Sharm El Sheikh ©Emirates Weightlifting Federation/Facebook

Hosts Egypt dominated the Arab Weightlifting Championships in Sharm El Sheikh, claiming 13 of the 15 gold medals available across the men’s and women’s categories.

On the men’s side, Moustafa Atif totalled 260 kilograms to take the 62kg title, while fellow Egyptian Abdulla Yasin topped the 69kg podium with 288kg.

Mohamed Ihab Youssef Ahmed Mahmoud, bronze medallist at last month's World Championships in Houston, proved too strong for the opposition in the 77kg, as did Tarek Yehia Fouad Abdelazim in the 85kg.

There were also gold medals for African Games champions Ragab Abdelhay Saad A. Abdalla and Gaber Ahmed Farhan Mohamed in the 94kg and 105kg respectively, and Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaziz Mohamed in the over 105kg.

The only men’s title not to go the way of Egypt was the 56kg, won by Algeria’s Rida Fenni.

Tunisia's Ghofrane Belkhir was the only non-Egyptian winner in women's competition, claiming the 58kg title
Tunisia's Ghofrane Belkhir was the only non-Egyptian winner in women's competition, claiming the 58kg title ©Emirates Weightlifting Federation/Facebook

It was a similar story on the women’s side, which saw six of the seven gold medals won by Egypt.

African Games champion Heba Saleh Mahmoud Ahmed took the 48kg crown with a total of 156kg, while Amal Mohamed Mahmoud won the 53kg by virtue of being the only competitor in the category. 

Esraa Elsayed Rashed Elsayed Ahmed came out on top in the 63kg, and there was also success for Sara Samir Elsayed Mohamed Ahmed in the 69kg, Samar Said Habashy Ahmed Hussein in the 75kg and Shaimaa Ahmed Khalaf Haridy in the over 75kg.

Tunisia’s Ghofrane Belkhir broke Egypt’s monopoly thanks to her triumph in the 58kg.