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The successful tale of Olympic legends is often made of resilience and patience, but the story of Ibrahim Shams can be ranked at the top of that list. Born in 1914, he was 22 when he took part in his first Olympics, in Berlin 1936. In the 60kg, he earned the bronze medal, after lifting 80-95-125-300 (lifters from Egypt won five medals at those Games). It was his first major international outcome, in a career that was aimed at greater successes. However, after those Games, World War II halted all sports activities, and two editions of the Olympics – 1940 and 1944 – had to be cancelled. In theory, those could have been the most prolific years for Shams, who nevertheless knew that his most illustrious hour was yet to come. Twelve years after his initial Olympic rendezvous, the Egyptian legend was ready to make history in London 1948. Competing in the 67.5 category, he clinched gold at the age of 34, with a solid performance of 97.5-115-147.5-360. Proving that this achievement was not an isolated one, Shams added two gold medals to his roll of honour, at the 1949 and 1951 editions of the World Championships. In Egypt’s Olympic history, Shams became the second athlete to earn two medals (after diver Simaika, at the 1928 Olympics), and the first one to make it in two different editions of the Games. Until his retirement, at almost 40, Shams also improved five World Records during his brilliant career (one in Snatch and four in Clean & Jerk). The Egyptian legend died in 2001.