He won the 96 kilograms title at Tokyo 2020, climbing up to victory after sitting in fourth place following the snatch.

In the clean and jerk, he took to the stage when everyone else had finished their lifts and hoisted up 217kg to claim the gold medal.

He followed with an Olympic record 225kg, resulting in an Olympic record total of 402kg.

El-Bakh also won 102kg gold at the 2022 World Championships, and he claimed the Asian title in the same year.