Egyptian long jumper overcomes injury - in pictures

  • Egyptian athlete Esraa Owis, 24, overcame an ankle injury and went on to become the country's first woman to win a silver medal in the long jump at the Mediterranean Games. All photos: Reuters
    Egyptian athlete Esraa Owis, 24, overcame an ankle injury and went on to become the country's first woman to win a silver medal in the long jump at the Mediterranean Games. All photos: Reuters
  • Doctors originally told Owis that she only had a 10 per cent chance of competing again.
    Doctors originally told Owis that she only had a 10 per cent chance of competing again.
  • But after seven months of rehab she returned to the track.
    But after seven months of rehab she returned to the track.
  • '[After the operation] I couldn’t do even the simplest movement and everyday tasks on my own. I walked with crutches and still needed one or two people to help me around. It was very hard on me. I imagined where I had been and where I am now, but as hard as it was it motivated me to come back to sports.'
    '[After the operation] I couldn’t do even the simplest movement and everyday tasks on my own. I walked with crutches and still needed one or two people to help me around. It was very hard on me. I imagined where I had been and where I am now, but as hard as it was it motivated me to come back to sports.'
  • Owis and her trainer are now gearing up for the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
    Owis and her trainer are now gearing up for the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
  • 'We have gone through long phases of exhaustion, injuries, and massive stress. But all this, thank God, vanishes when you are rewarded, like you forget all the effort,' says Hesham Aly, her trainer.
    'We have gone through long phases of exhaustion, injuries, and massive stress. But all this, thank God, vanishes when you are rewarded, like you forget all the effort,' says Hesham Aly, her trainer.
  • 'The first thing that we need for support is to fix this stadium, because it gets players injured on a weekly basis,' Mr Aly says. 'Esraa needs to take great care to be able to qualify. We need internal and external camps and to play internationally several times. Medals are not achieved without support. Everyone should understand that the players who compete in the world championships and won medals, are sponsored with millions.'
    'The first thing that we need for support is to fix this stadium, because it gets players injured on a weekly basis,' Mr Aly says. 'Esraa needs to take great care to be able to qualify. We need internal and external camps and to play internationally several times. Medals are not achieved without support. Everyone should understand that the players who compete in the world championships and won medals, are sponsored with millions.'