“This is the first time in my whole life that I got a gold medal...

“This is the first time in my whole life that I got a gold medal in the World Games.  I was very calm and controlled my emotions.  When I left home, my mom said to focus hard on my trainings and make Egypt proud of you.  Sometimes when I’m on my horse I pretend like my mom is right beside me and not all the way back in Cairo.  I want to thank her so much.  She does everything for me.  My dad is in heaven and I want him to know that I miss him and that I love him so much.  All the time I hear him saying ‘do a good job’ and ‘take care of yourself.’  I want to thank God for helping me win a gold medal.  I want to thank my brother Islam for calling me yesterday and saying: ‘I hope you win the gold medal.’  That helped so much.  I also want to thank my Coach Dahlia because she is a person that I love.  She is almost like my little sister.  Right now I feel like life is so beautiful.  I feel a smile all over my face.  I love everyone.  And I am feeling very much like everyone loves me because I’m beautiful.”
(Special Olympics World Games, Abu Dhabi, UAE)