Al-Ahram Weekly | Sports | Flood of records

		22 - 28 August 2002 Issue No. 600 Sports	Current issue Previous issue Site map
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Flood of records
Last week, Cairo's Olympic Swimming Complex witnessed South Africa splash its way to a dominant spot in the African Championships. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports

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While South Africa's swimmers were the creme of the crop, Egypt's juniors brought in their fair share of triumph, taking Egypt to a second place rank
The African Championships should, in theory, be a much bigger event given that the African continent is home to 37 member countries in the African Swimming Federation. But the continent's reality strikes hard, and this year's Sixth African Swimming Championship played host to just 13 solitary nations.
Hosted by Egypt from 12 to 18 August, the championship brought together 151 swimmers representing South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, Seychelles, Namibia, Angola, Burundi, Senegal, Nigeria, Swaziland and host Egypt.
The low turn-out, critics say, should not come as a surprise.
"The African countries are poor," said Algerian Mustapha Larfaoui, 14-year president of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and the African Swimming Federation (CANA). "They need technical support and swimming pools. Besides, it's normally nine countries that usually participate. However, this year they are 13. It's a good indication. There is some progress and some new African records set."
The records came from the continent's contingency which is said to inherently have a better chance.
"The North African countries have better chance and sources than the other African countries except for South Africa," said Sam Ramsamy, general secretary of the CANA. "They are prominent in swimming. They hold competitions with each other and with the Mediterranean countries whereas South Africa fly everywhere to get in contact with world swimmers. The South African swimmers have tight regimens and manage to maintain the pace," he continued. "That's why they win and beat the North teams."
Accordingly, South Africa gathered an unprecedented number of medals: 26 gold, 16 silver and three bronze in the long course events -- a reflection of the nation's powerhouse persona as Africa's sole representative in swimming events around the world.
After the 1994 cancellation of the apartheid laws, South Africa -- deprived for years of world recognition and sports victories -- re-surged as a global threat in all areas of sports; the result of steady plotting for years before. In 1992's Barcelona Olympics, for example, South Africa won a single bronze medal in swimming. In Atlanta, the figure climbed to six, and then to 15 in the recent Commonwealth Games -- a consistent climb that steadily pushed them to the fourth spot in the international swimming ladder ranks; after the US, Australia, and Canada.
The South African team is undeniably strong, and last week's championships were the perfect proving test.
Maretha Van Wyk -- the undisputed queen in the middle and long distance freestyle -- won the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m distances, and set two championship records and one African record. South Africa's double Olympian Mandy Loots won the 50m and 100m butterfly, the 200m and 400m individual medley, and the 200m butterfly, in record times. Loots won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke which was won by SA's Romy Altmann in 1:04.51. Altmann won the 50m in a championship record time of 30.69.
Natalie du Toit's silver medals in the 800m and 1500m freestyle are again evidence of her indomitable spirit. Du Toit lost her leg tragically in a motor accident in February 2001, but refused to let her setback keep her out of the water.
And those are just a few of the names that make up South Africa's smashing team. The question the continents' other nations ask is: what's the trick?
"There are lots of factors that helped South Africa," François Boshoff, one of the five coaches of the South African team, said. "For example, there is a good system in the country. We do the coaching in club level and raise it to the national level. We have lots of sponsorship. We take our teams in many competitions in Europe, the States and South America. We set our eyes on the talents and make a generation of champions," he said. "For example, we came with 23 swimmers -- forming some of the competition's top swimmers -- to guarantee medals, second ranked swimmers to hit medals, and the young talents for international contact."
A strategy that the medals table proved effective.
Egypt's technique, however, also played its works. The country came second with six gold medals, 14 silver and 16 bronze. "It's a big achievement per se," said Abdel-Rahman Amin, president of the Egyptian Swimming Federation and member of the International Swimming Federation. "In the last competition, Egypt came fourth after Tunisia and Algeria. Now we head them. Although we lost, yet the competition unraveled promising stars in the game, especially the girls."
Egypt was represented by 31 swimmers; 16 males and 15 females ranging in age from 14 to 28. The men gathered four golds, six silvers and six bronzes, with the women snatching the rest.
The women's results were a breath of fresh air.
"The girls are very promising," said one of the team's main coaches, Shamseddin Mohamed. "Sixteen-year-old Salma Abdel-Raouf Zeinhom was the only girl on the team who snatched two gold medals and set two competition records in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and added two silver and one bronze as well," he said.
Heba Selim, 14 and the youngest on the team, clinched one silver and two bronze. Soha Abdel-'Al, Mai Refaat, Riham Khaled, Sarah Hatem and Yasmine Abdel-Rahman added the rest, contributing among others two silver team medals and one bronze.
The results come partially in response to a coaching team of four ---- headed by Romanian Michael Gota -- which took over in January.
"In eight months the team showed a lot of progress," Gota said after the competition. "We entered four international games where they showed ambition not only to win but to set new African and Championship records. Ahmed Mostafa Hussein won three golds in the 50m, 100m, 200m backstroke and broke his own African record last year in the 200m backstroke this year as well to be 2:01,47."
The evolution of the team is one story, but the players are also stories in themselves. Take triple gold medalist Hussein, for example.
Most parents believe their children have talents and potential, and most parents believe that their children will become the best. Few, however, are objective in their assessment, and fewer are willing to take striking risks. Hussein's parents, however, stand out from that crowd.
Detecting in him a raw talent, they took on the task to nurture it with a Western-flare of force. In 1999, when he was 14, his mother Rania packed their bags and flew off with him to the United States. While the federation supported them for a year, their test of dedication to his progress was put promptly to the test. They proved the professionalism with which they were approaching Hussein's talents, and put out nearly $8,000 a month for his training. He trains six hours a day with one hour of fitness conditioning; and a competition every two weeks.
It has paid off.
Hussein set Europe's record in the World Junior Championship in the 100 backstroke in 1999.
"Life there [in the US] makes it very easy for a talent to flourish," Hussein said. "The studies, the easy lifestyle and the high technical facilities all collaborate to make a champion." Now, at the age of 19, the Arizona-based champion is setting his eyes on the World Championship and the Olympics.
He is not the only one to have chosen the US-based path.
Fellow Egyptian Haitham Hazem has also been lured into the US training appeal, pursuing his dreams from an Oakland locale.
In Egypt, Hazem explained, there are only four international competitions, whereas in the US, he competes almost every week. The international contact and frequent competition helped 24-year-old Hazem take one gold medal in the 50m butterfly, setting a new championship record of 24.72 seconds. He also collected two silver medals in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly, and a bronze medal in 100m backstroke.
While South Africa and Egypt stole the show, Tunisia certainly shone, boasting a rising star of its own: Ossama Mellouli. The 18-year-old Marseille-based champion won five gold medals in the 200m, 800m, 1500m freestyle events and the 200m and 400m Individual Medley, setting three championship records. With his blond-dyed hair and inviting smile, Mellouli -- who is well aware of his talent and flare -- is also one of those who has been churned out of the US's factory line of champions.
"It's obvious that America is making the champions," he said. "So I have to go there and try my chance hard."
America, all the champions agreed, was the best place to go to become a rising star. But it is not the only place to go, and not the only route to medals.
On the sidelines of the competition, the first African Open Water Championship took place, with the participation of six African countries; Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Egypt did well.
Amr Tarek won the open-water 5km event in Alexandria, with Khaled Mohamed following in second place. South African Natalie Du Toit -- the inspiring swimmer with just one leg -- topped the ranks, with Egypt's Sarah Ashraf coming second. In the 10km event, Mohamed Hassan came first and Dina Osama topped the girls; Natalie came second claiming she went astray at the Temsah Lake. The open water results proved that local training -- if coupled with the unwavering perseverance and dedication that the US camps bring out -- can bring a flood of results too.

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