CAIRO — Sharm El-Sheikh has proved a happy hunting ground for Egypt’s finswimmers. The national teams have enjoyed a superb run, winning two world titles and collecting medals across a range of events.
The latest success came at the World Open Water Finswimming Championships for seniors and juniors, where Egypt claimed the title for the fourth consecutive time.
This followed the country’s victory at the World University Finswimming Championships. Across the two events, Egypt collected 48 medals, including 17 gold, and set new records.
It was a strong all-round performance, with swimmers of different ages stepping up. The experienced athletes delivered, while the younger ones showed they have plenty to offer.
Open-water dominance
Egypt claimed the open-water title with 29 medals: 10 gold, 11 silver and eight bronze.
Held in Sharm El-Sheikh, the World Open Water Finswimming Championships attracted 264 athletes from 16 countries.
Egypt finished strongly, adding nine medals on the final day alone: three gold, three silver and three bronze. Greece came second with 12 medals, followed by Italy with nine.
The men’s team led the way in several events. Mohab Ehab won the senior men’s 150m monofin title in 1:05.35, while junior Mazen El-Ghazali struck gold in the same event in 1:08.27.
Ziad Hesham picked up bronze in the senior 150m bi-fins, and Youssef Abdelrahman claimed silver in the junior event. Yassin Mohamed added another bronze in the senior 150m monofin.
The women were equally impressive. Malak Sherif grabbed silver in the senior 150m monofin, while Farida Mohamed finished second in the junior 150m bi-fins. Sahar Magdy rounded off the individual medal tally with bronze in the junior 150m monofin.
Egypt also struck gold in the mixed 4x1km relay. Ziad Hesham, Alia Ehab, Yassin Abdel Latif and Nada Magdy combined to take the title in 39:01.70.
Winning streak
Egypt carried that form into the World University Finswimming Championships, also staged in Sharm El-Sheikh, where athletes from 19 countries competed.
The hosts finished top of the medal table with 19 medals: seven gold, nine silver and three bronze. The championships also saw several new records set.
China took second place with seven medals, including four gold, while Italy finished third with the same overall tally, three of them gold.
Tarek Hassan was among Egypt’s leading performers. He won the men’s 100m monofin in 34.50 seconds, setting a new world record. He had already claimed silver in the 50m underwater event.
Mohab Ehab was another big winner. He took the 800m monofin in 6:28.72 before adding gold in the 400m, clocking 3:03.04 to set a new university record.
Mahmoud Walid won gold in the 200m monofin and added two silvers in the 400m and 800m. Ahmed Mohamed completed the men’s gold-medal tally with victory in the 400m bi-fins. His time of 3:35.62 also set a new university record.
Seif Khaled and Ahmed Hesham added silver medals, while Ammar Wassef claimed two bronze.
Record breaker
Nada Magdy was the standout of the women’s competition, producing two record-breaking performances.
She won the 800m monofin in 7:06.51 to set a new world university record. She then returned to the pool for the 400m, where her time of 3:18.99 earned another gold and broke the record once again.
Malak Sherif also impressed, collecting silver in both events and bronze in the 200m monofin.
Egypt’s final medal came in the mixed 4x100m monofin relay. Tarek Hassan, Shahd Hossam, Yassin Ahmed and Jana Owais took silver in 2:37.75.
Bright future
The numbers tell their own story. Two world titles and 48 medals, including 17 gold, made this a campaign to remember.
But there was more to the success than the medal table. Swimmers from the junior, senior and university teams all played their part, underlining the depth of talent across the sport.
Sharm El-Sheikh has given Egyptian finswimming plenty to celebrate. With talent emerging at every level, there is every reason to expect further progress.
