George Fahoum

George Fahoum was born in Egypt but attended school in Lebanon, eventually matriculating at the American University in Beirut. There he was athletically active, particularly in tennis and track and field athletics, and set several collegiate records. He then returned to his home country and joined the national athletics team after coming in second in the 400 metres at the 1933 Egyptian Championships. His biggest international moment came at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he was eliminated in round one of both the 100 and 200 metres. He continued to compete for the rest of the decade and was Egyptian champion in the 100 metres in 1937 (with a national record time of 10.8 seconds) and runner-up in 1939.

That same year, Fahoum married Emma Mirshak, who was also well-known in Egypt as a track athlete. He then entered into business with Emma’s father, Elias, and made millions importing heavy agricultural equipment. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, however, Fahoum gradually fell out of favour with the new regime. In 1962, after a politically-motivated trial, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment for “business corruption” for allegedly offering £15,000 in bribes to government officials. He eventually fled to Lebanon and did not return to Egypt for many years, although in the 1990s he attempted unsuccessfully to sue the government for the assets that they had seized from him in the 1960s.

Personal Bests: 100 – 10.8 (1937); 200 – 22.0 (1934).