Egyptian wrestling champion Samar Hamza has claimed gold at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games, defeating Turkey’s Kadriye Kocak Aksoy in the women’s 76kg freestyle final.
Hamza secured the title with a 5–3 victory in a closely contested final on August 25, adding another major achievement to her career and delivering Egypt’s fifth gold medal of the Games at that stage of the competition.
The victory also represents an upgrade on Hamza’s result at the previous Mediterranean Games, where she won bronze in Oran in 2022.
Samar Hamza Defeats Kadriye Kocak for Gold
Hamza faced Turkish wrestler Kadriye Kocak Aksoy in the 76kg final, with the two athletes battling through a competitive match for the Mediterranean title.
The Egyptian ultimately prevailed 5–3, completing her campaign with gold and adding another medal to Egypt’s strong start in Taranto.
Her victory brought Egypt’s medal tally at the time to 15 medals: five gold, four silver and six bronze.
Strong Semifinal Performance Against Enrica Rinaldi
Hamza booked her place in the gold-medal bout after defeating Italy’s Enrica Rinaldi 4–1 in the semifinals.
Competing against the home wrestler, Hamza controlled the bout to secure the victory and guarantee Egypt another podium finish before going on to fight for gold.
Rinaldi later recovered to win one of the bronze medals in the 76kg division.
From Bronze in Oran to Gold in Taranto
The Taranto triumph marks a significant improvement on Hamza’s performance at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran, where she finished with a bronze medal in the same 76kg category.
Four years later, she returned to the Mediterranean Games and climbed to the top step of the podium.
The result adds another major medal to a career that has already established Hamza as one of the most successful female wrestlers in Egyptian history.
A Trailblazer for Egyptian Women’s Wrestling
Hamza has repeatedly broken new ground for Egyptian wrestling on the international stage.
At the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, she became the first Egyptian woman to win a senior Wrestling World Championships medal, taking bronze in the 76kg category.
She went one better a year later, becoming the first Egyptian woman to reach a World Championships final before winning silver in Belgrade in 2022. Her performances that season also saw her finish the year ranked No. 1 in the world at 76kg by United World Wrestling.
Hamza has also represented Egypt at the Olympic Games and has collected multiple African titles during a career that has helped raise the profile of women’s wrestling in the country.
Another Gold for Egypt at Taranto 2026
Hamza’s victory provided another boost for the Egyptian delegation as athletes continued competing across the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games.
Egypt entered athletes across 23 sports, with wrestling contributing several medals to the country’s early tally.
For Samar Hamza, however, the result carries particular significance. After taking bronze four years ago in Oran, the Egyptian returned to the Mediterranean stage and completed the journey to gold, defeating Kocak Aksoy 5–3 to become the 2026 Mediterranean Games women’s 76kg wrestling champion.
