Suspended M45 Egyptian was busted for impersonating M50
Mohamed Megahed of Egypt, 46, took 14th in the M45 long jump at Sacramento worlds in 2011, going 5.80 meters (19-0 1/2) with a big aiding wind. He wasn’t satisfied with his mark, so he tried again — in M50. He took the bib number of another Egyptian, 54-year-old Shaban Hoseen, and was ninth out of 30 with a prelims leap of 5.45 (17-10 3/4). But when he showed up for the final, he was nailed as an imposter. DQ, Megahed (but the results show DQ, Hoseen). I wrote WMA Secretary Winston Thomas, and he sent me details of the fraud and suspension. (But he left out the name of the victimized athlete.) I looked up the results and put 2 and 2 together. So don’t blame Winston, a most considerate gentleman. I’m a most shameless blogger. Kick my cheeky butt.
M50 results from Sacramento worlds long jump show how Megahed got DQ’d under another name, a fellow Egyptian. (They all look alike, I guess.)
Here’s what Winston sent me about L’Affaire Megahed
Athlete Mohamed Megahed from Egypt was entered and participated in the M45 age category in the Long Jump and the Triple Jump with his bib number 891.
Mr Mohamed Megahed took the identity of another athlete to jump in the long jump competition with the M50, while he himself is only M45 (age 46). This is a case of fraud of identity committed by an athlete at a World Championship.
He used the bib number and accreditation of the other athlete to enter the competition of the M50 Long Jump. The other athlete was not seen in Sacramento.
He has jumped 3 attempts, since he was recognized by Serge Beckers, Vice President Stadia he went away left the competition, with a final result of 5.67m (jumped in the first attempt). During the competition he has been asked by Michael Serralta (athletics official working for WMA) if he really was the athlete named on the event declaration, a question which he answered positively.
Witnesses of this were Serge Beckers (Vice President Stadia WMA), Michael Serralta (athletics official) and Winston Thomas (Secretary WMA).
The athlete left the competition on his own wish after the third attempt without giving notice to the officials and was later disqualified by the officials, and his results were later removed.
The athlete later attended a meeting with Stan Perkins (President WMA), Michael Serralta and Serge Beckers, where he immediately acknowledged that he had taken the identity of another athlete of his country and that he should not have done that. He did not deny the infraction on the way of conduct of an athlete.

He asked to keep in mind that he had felt to have been robbed of a good performance or even a medal in as well the Triple Jump and the Long Jump of the M45, because of the declared fouls in the competition of the Long Jump Qualifying and the Triple Jump Finals. Fouls of which he thought were not valid, but faulty disadvantaging by the officials or umpires.
These facts happened on the last day of competition, 17 July 2011.
The incident was reported to the WMA Law and Legislation Committee in 13th, April, 2012. Following no decisions from the athletes Federation, a decision was finalized on the 25th July after giving the athlete and his federation time to consider any appeals, which was declined.
As per WMA guidelines all affiliates have been notified of the suspension.
Winston Thomas
WMA Secretary
5 Responses
Gosh, why didn’t I think of this? Since my LJ of recent is probably less than 6 feet, I am significantly worse than the M95 WR of 2.14 meters. So I (M65) maybe should consider entering the Women’s LJ, but which age group? The WR for W90 is only 1.77m. That’s it! But wait! My mother (former W80 weight thrower)is now 95, and that might tip off the officials. Seriously. . . what was this man thinking? Why didn’t he just go over to the practice area and get in another jump or two to satisfy his curiosity about his “true” abilities?
We don’t do that in the Steeplechase….one is enough!
Sorry, there is still something very wrong with this barely comprehensible ‘WMA Athlete Sanction,’ probably another story where an athletics officer feels personally insulted as is often the case.
Read it more carefully. Mr. Mogahed was actually not suspended from competition for lying about his age in that long jump competition. He received a stay on the suspension, provided he does not act in any capacity as a masters official, where he is disqualified using the disgraceful ‘Bringing the sport into disrepute’ rule.
Why? Is this essentially an attempt to silence Mr. Mogahed for something else? WMA obviously considers Mr. Mogahed more of a pain to the masters athletics bureaucrats as a fellow official, than to the masters athletics community as a competing athlete.
That cannot be. Impersonating another athlete is as bad as doping, or worse. Mr. Mogahed should have been unconditionally suspended from competition for the full two years. Whether anyone should ever be disqualified for ‘Bringing the sport into disrepute’ is another matter.
In its wisdom World Masters Athletics (WMA) did not disqualify or suspend (Winston confuses everything and us) Mr. Megahed as a masters athlete, only as a masters official.
So despite having impersonated a fellow athlete and competed in the wrong age group, Mr. Megahed is free to compete and thus do what he likes in the long jump pit.
It is no big deal, but why was Mr. Mogahed then disqualified from representing in an official capacity and not as an athlete, as he would seem to have so richly deserved? Along the way did he criticise an official and must be silenced? That is what the Bringing the Sport into Dispute rule is often misused for.
‘The incident was reported to the WMA Law and Legislation Committee in 13th, April, 2012. Following no decisions from the athletes Federation, a decision was finalized on the 25th July after giving the athlete and his federation time to consider any appeals, which was declined.’
Sorry again. Was the athlete explicity given an appeal? Or was he just given time to respond to the fact of the decision? It is not the same thing. You cannot see from Winston Thomas’ ambiguous English. And did the athlete explicitly decline anything, or is that simply Winston Thomas’ subjective interpretation of not responding. Winston Thomas does not write clear English language and he does not practice clear law.
It does not really matter. He is only an Arab and he must have done something bad to justify his disqualification anyway. Right?
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