Before competing against his rivals, Mohamed Helal challenged himself, despite suffering from cancer, to represent Egypt by participating in national and international weightlifting events.
At the age of 17, Helal was still a student when he began to suffer from a severe pain in his foot.
When his mother took him to the hospital, she was told that his blood was not able to circulate and reach his hip, causing the severe pain.
Unfortunately, this was not the correct diagnosis for Helal’s case. It was later discovered that he had a tumour in the hip.
Helal began treatment for the tumour in April 2008 at Children Cancer Hospital 57357. As the journey to recovery started with the chemotherapy, which lasted for two years, it was difficult and exhausting.
Afterwards the tumour was removed along with a piece of bone. Twenty-one operations were completed under the care of Ahmed El-Ghounemy. The journey ended in 2015 with a joint replacement surgery in the hip.
While cancer isolated him from the world, including his friends, and also delayed his studies. Helal determined that he would not surrender to his illness.
Thanks to his family’s support, especially his mother, he began practicing sports that were dedicated for those with special needs. For him, weightlifting was the sport of choice.
He began his sporting career at El-Masri Al-Qahri Club, where he met Coach Mohamed El-Sayed.
This was a new phase in Helal’s life, as he was dedicated to the training, and formed new friends there. Thanks to this turnover, he challenged himself to do something special for himself, his family, and Egypt.
In a short period of time, Helal was developing notably, up until the point that everyone around him was expecting a bright future for the hero.
In fact, Helal presented at the 2015/2016 National Weightlifting Championship, where he won first place in the juniors’ competitions.
For Helal, as well as for his family, this was the first victory that compensated them for the time and money he spent towards his treatment and recovery.
In March 2016, he won first place in the Egyptian-Saudi brotherhood game, which was held in Saudi Arabia.
As an act of gratitude, Helal and his family went to Mecca for pilgrimage.
Helal’s goal now is to succeed in his academic, professional, and sporting career. He aims to always make his family proud of him and to achieve victories for Egypt.
