The Journey of Haydy Morsy in Championing the Modern Pentathlon
Edited By: Malak
At just 24 years old, Communication and Media Arts (CMA) alumna Haydy Morsy has already put her name in the history books as an Olympian modern pentathlete, and winner of the gold medal at the Senior Women’s World Championship for adults in 2022.
“Haydy Morsy is a very disciplined player who loves sports and does her best, and she is also one of the best players in the world. One of my naughtiest (“ash’a”) and strongest players,” said Yasser Asar, an Olympic coach for the Egyptian National Equestrian team in the Modern Pentathlon.
At the age of 8, Morsy started her journey, but she was initially unaware of the fact that modern pentathlon comprises five disciplines, which are fencing, swimming, horseback riding, pistol shooting, and running. She had no interest in playing the other games; her only goal was to learn how to swim.
The trainers at the Cairo International Stadium informed her that athletes could be taken for the pentathlon team at her age.
“The club takes players to compete in the pentathlon at the age of 8, for swimming and running only. With time, I would learn one game after another from the remaining three games, which are archery, pistol shooting, and equestrianism,” said Morsy.
Morsy decided to join the squad and practice both swimming and running. She then participated in the 2008 and 2009 local modern pentathlon tournaments, marking the beginning of her competitive journey in the sport. In 2010, she competed at her first international championship in a running and swimming competition in Dubai.
She began practicing archery and pistol shooting before attending the Dubai competition when she was 10 years old, and two years later, she began practicing horseback riding, the last of the five disciplines.
The pentathlon competition is split into three age groups: the youth stage from ages 8 to 18, the junior stage from 18 to 21, and the senior stage from 21 years old until retirement.
During the youth stage, at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, Morsy won seventh place in the Modern Pentathlon competition that took place at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre in Nanjing, China, marking her first Olympic Games participation.
Morsy won the silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Argentina in 2015 and the gold medal in Cairo at the African Senior Championship in 2015. She also won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Ireland, and a silver medal at the 2015 Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) World Pentathlon Championship.
“It is a great feeling when my name is called for victory, and I hear the national anthem of Egypt, especially when the championship is in Egypt. I have a wonderful feeling, as I forget all the hard work I put in when I hear the national anthem; as if I am on top of the world,” said Morsy.
When she was almost 16 years old, she achieved one of her biggest goals when she participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, finishing 35th in the 35-woman field.
“I was the youngest Egyptian to participate in the Olympics,” said Morsy.
Samya Gad recounted her daughter’s Morsy historic feat, highlighting their mutual pride in her accomplishments.
“I am very proud of Haydy and what she has achieved. She is one of the youngest players to play in three Olympics, and she has also achieved many medals,” said Gad.
After competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Morsy took home two silver medals at both the 2016 and 2017 (UIPM) World Pentathlon Championships. She also won the bronze medal in the 2017 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic.
One of her biggest setbacks came in 2018 during the World Senior Championships in Hungary. Despite her great achievement of coming in fourth place, she suffered a major back injury.
“I had to spend six months at home recovering from a major back injury, which meant I didn’t move at all during that time. Hence, I struggled after this because I had to get ready for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020,” said Morsy.
Morsy qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo by taking first place at the 2019 Pentathlon African Championships, following which she was the best-performing athlete in the women’s fencing ranking round for the Tokyo Olympics, securing 24 victories.
Morsy emerged victorious in the 2022 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, which took place in Alexandria from July 23 to July 31. She was among 170 athletes from 35 different countries who participated in this competition.
To achieve these milestones, Morsy trains for six to eight hours per day on average. She practices swimming every morning at six, and runs after.
“My days usually consist of three or four exercises, depending on what I need to do,” explained Morsy.
The remaining three sports are spread out over the week, with Friday being her day off.
Even though Morsy accomplished a lot, she had a difficult time juggling her academics and social life with her intense training schedule. For example, her schedule with the International Sports Association occasionally prevents her from celebrating Eid with her family or breaking her fast with them during Ramadan.
In the beginning, the balance was very difficult for Morsy, but over time, everything from training, competing, studying, and maintaining a social life became a habit.
“I have been playing for 15 years, so this has become routine in my life,” said Morsy.
Currently, Morsy is preparing to hopefully compete in her fourth Olympic Games this summer in Paris. She has already registered for it, with applications for registration closing on June 30.
