Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed
American Greco-Roman wrestler
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Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed (born 16 March 1998) is an American Greco-Roman wrestler. Formerly representing Egypt, he is a six-time African Champion, a two-time U23 World Champion and a bronze medalist in the 67 kg event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[1][2] In 2025, Ibrahim switched his sporting allegiance from Egypt to the United States, citing years of neglect and unfulfilled promises from Egyptian sports authorities.[3]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 March 1998 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Wrestling |
Event | Greco-Roman |
Medal record | |
Career
In 2016, Ibrahim won the gold medal in the 66 kg event at the African Wrestling Championships held in Alexandria, Egypt.[4]
He competed at the 2017 African Wrestling Championships held in Marrakesh, Morocco and won the silver medal in the 75 kg event.[5] In 2018, he won the gold medal in the 66 kg event at the 2018 African Wrestling Championships held in Port Harcourt, Nigeria,[6] and won the gold medal in the 67 kg event at the 2018 World U23 Wrestling Championship held in Bucharest, Romania.
In 2019, Ibrahim won the gold medal in the 67 kg event at the African Wrestling Championships held in Hammamet, Tunisia[7][8] and reached the semi-finals in the 67 kg event at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan which has qualified him to represent Egypt at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[9] At the 2019 Military World Games held in Wuhan, China, he won the gold medal in the 67 kg event.[10] In the same year, he also won the gold medal in the men's 67 kg event at the 2019 World U23 Wrestling Championship held in Budapest, Hungary.[11][12]
In 2020, he won the gold medal in the men's 67 kg event at the African Wrestling Championships held in Algiers, Algeria.[13][14] The same year, Ibrahim was named by the United World Wrestling association as the best U-23 wrestler.[15] In 2021, he won the silver medal in his event at the 2021 Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup held in Warsaw, Poland.[16][17]
He represented Egypt at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and he won one of the bronze medals in the 67 kg event.[2] In his bronze medal match he defeated Artem Surkov.[2]
He competed in the 67 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[18]
He earned a quota place for Egypt for the 2024 Summer Olympics at the 2024 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey.[19] He competed in the 67 kg event at the Olympics.[20]
On Friday, August 9, 2024, El-Sayed was arrested by French police for allegedly groping a woman from behind at a café in Paris.[21] He was released after authorities reviewed CCTV footage of the incident and determined the offence to be "insufficiently serious.”[22]
Achievements
| Year | Tournament | Location | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | African Wrestling Championships | Alexandria, Egypt | 1st | Greco-Roman 66 kg |
| 2017 | African Wrestling Championships | Marrakesh, Morocco | 2nd | Greco-Roman 75 kg |
| 2018 | African Wrestling Championships | Port Harcourt, Nigeria | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg |
| Mediterranean Games | Tarragona, Spain | 2nd | Greco-Roman 67 kg | |
| 2019 | African Wrestling Championships | Hammamet, Tunisia | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg |
| African Games | Rabat, Morocco | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg | |
| Military World Games | Wuhan, China | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg | |
| 2020 | African Wrestling Championships | Algiers, Algeria | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg |
| 2021 | Summer Olympics | Tokyo, Japan | 3rd | Greco-Roman 67 kg |
| 2023 | African Wrestling Championships | Hammamet, Tunisia | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg |
| 2023 | African Games | Accra, Ghana | 1st | Greco-Roman 67 kg |
Controversy
In August 2024, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, French police arrested Ibrahim in Paris for alleged sexual assault. He was later released after the authorities reviewed CCTV footage and found no sexual assault took place.[23]
