Arab swimmers believe Dubai is playing an important role in advancing their sport in the region by giving them a chance to compete against the best in the world.
Besides Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli winning two individual silver medals at the Swimming World Cup, the Egyptians gave in the best Arab team performance, with many of their swimmers making several finals and their relay team placing fourth in the mixed 4x50m freestyle.
“Dubai hosting these events is a huge help for us,” Egyptian Olympian Shehab Younis told Sport360°. “They are supporting Egyptian swimming and we’re now very optimistic for next season.
“This is the first time we get to compete in the Swimming World Cup series and we placed fourth in the mixed relay. We’re coming off a break because we were recently at the Islamic Solidarity Games where we won 38 medals and we took some time off after. We got the invite to come here to Dubai so we couldn’t miss it. But we only had five days to prepare. So all things considered, placing fourth is a great achievement.
“Next year we plan on competing in more competitions like this one so we can try and get on the podium. We showed we’re not too far from the rest. We made more than one final in the individual events and those who missed out were like 10th or 11th, so we’re definitely close.”
One to watch is Ahmed Akram Abbas, who was impressive in the World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai last August, placing fifth in the 800m freestyle, and was ninth in the 400m individual medley in the World Cup on Thursday. He's been recruited to attend and swim for University of Michigan next year as well.
“The experience I got from this World Cup is just incredible and swimming amongst world and Olympic champions is a huge honour,” said Abbas, who is targeting the podium in next year’s Youth Olympic Games.
Egypt’s Ahmed Moussa also had a strong showing here, making the final in the 200m IM, where he was two lanes down from world and Olympic champion Chad le Clos. The 17-year-old clocked 2:01.44 to place eighth.
“I’m happy with my timing, this is my first ever appearance at a World Cup,” said Moussa. “Of course competing with someone like Chad le Clos is an incredible experience. He’s an amazing champion. “I’m trying to push harder to put Egypt in a totally different league and show the world that we can swim well.”
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