Published on : 27/07/2021 – 01:44Modified : 27/07/2021 – 03:38
Kuwaiti shooter Abdullah Al-Rashidi won bronze in the skeet event on Monday. Five years after the Rio Games where Kuwait was suspended by the IOC and where he had already been 3rd, this soldier was finally able to celebrate his medal with the flag around his neck.
His improbable look, mustache and rifle, caught the attention of social networks, as did his Olympic history. Kuwaiti shooter Abdullah Al-Rashidi won bronze in the skeet event on Monday (July 26th). As he stepped onto the podium, he pulled a Kuwaiti flag out of his tracksuit pocket and draped it over his shoulders, showing a huge smile.
A smile that tastes of revenge. Five years ago, during the Rio Olympics, he had already won the bronze medal, but he had not been able to celebrate it under the banner of his country, being obliged to compete under a neutral banner. Indeed, Kuwait was then suspended by the IOC because of “government interference” in local sports bodies. Abdullah Al-Rashidi had nevertheless gained some notoriety after having played with an Arsenal jersey on his shoulders, but kept his head down on the podium.
In a press conference, he returned to this gesture in Rio: “I didn’t like seeing the Olympic flag. I needed to see my flag, the Kuwaiti flag,” he said.
His son is part of the selection
Abdullah Al-Rashidi believes that he owes his capital sympathy to his advanced age: “Everyone loves me because I am old,” he smiles. At 57, he was playing his seventh Olympic Games in Tokyo. This new bronze medal is just an additional charm gleaned from an already exemplary career since it has three world champion titles won in the 1990s (1995, 1997, 1998).
Proof of the longevity of the Kuwaiti, his son is now part of the Kuwaiti delegation. Talal Al-Rashidi was on hand to cheer and celebrate with his father and will compete in the trap events on Wednesday.
Abdullah Al-Rashidi was certainly the oldest of the 30 skeet shooters, but he is still far from the record for the oldest medalist in the history of the Olympic Games, held by the Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, silver medalist in 1920 at the Olympic Games. ‘Antwerp, at 72 years old. See you in 2036 for Abdullah Al-Rashidi?
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