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Farida OSMAN
Sport Swimming
NOC Egypt   
GenderWomen
Born18 Jan 1995 in Indianapolis, IN, USA
Height1.73 m
 Human Interest 
General Interest
Awards and honours
In 2020 she was named one of the 30 most influential people from the Middle East under the age of 30 by the Forbes Middle East website. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 20 Sep 2020)

In 2018 a swimming pool complex in Cairo, Egypt, was named after her by the Egyptian Ministry for Youth and Sports. (swimswam.com, 31 Mar 2018; Instagram profile, 31 Mar 2018)

In 2017 she was named African Swimmer of the Year in SwimSwam's Swammy Awards for the fourth time, having previously won the award in 2013, 2015 and 2016. (faridaosman.com, 24 Sep 2020; swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2017)

She was named 2017 Best Female Athlete from Africa by the Association of National Olympic Committees. (egyptindependent.com, 24 Jun 2018)

She was awarded the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sport Award for Distinguished Athlete Achievement in Sport in 2017. (Facebook page, 27 Nov 2017; khaleejtimes.com, 27 Nov 2017)

In 2016 she was named Most Outstanding Swimmer at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States of America. (calbears.com, 27 Jun 2017)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Sergio Lopez Miro [personal], ESP; Sherif Habib [personal], EGY
When and where did you begin this sport?
She began swimming at age four, and at age eight she joined El Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo, Egypt.
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
Arabic, English, French
Higher education
Advertising, Marketing, Media Studies - University of California, Berkeley: United States
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Never a failure, always a lesson." (Twitter profile, 30 Jun 2018)
Hero / Idol
US swimmer Natalie Coughlin, Egyptian swimmer Rania Elwani, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. (kooora.com, 15 Jun 2019; insight-egypt.com, 01 Sep 2018; Athlete, 01 Aug 2016)
Nicknames
The Golden Fish (en.amwalalghad.com, 24 Oct 2019)
Hobbies
Travelling, shopping, fashion design, kickboxing. (Facebook page, 20 Jan 2020; egypttoday.com, 24 Jan 2018)
Milestones
With her bronze medal in the 50m butterfly event at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea, she became the first Egyptian athlete from any sport to win more than one career medal at the aquatics world championships. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 May 2020)

Her bronze medal in the 50m butterfly at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, made her the first Egyptian swimmer to win a medal in the pool and the second Egyptian to win a medal in any sport at the aquatics world championships, after Mohamed Zanaty won bronze in open water swimming at the 2007 edition of the tournament. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 May 2020; fina.org, 30 Jul 2017)
Other information
AMBASSADOR BOOST
She says the invitation to serve as an ambassador for the 2021 World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, gave her a lift after she was disappointed with her performance at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I'm really honoured. It was really nice, especially given that it came after Tokyo. It reminded me that what happened in Tokyo does not define your whole career. I've done so much for this sport and so much for Egypt, Africa, the Middle East, this region, and I feel like being an ambassador was just proof that I'm so much more than what happened in Tokyo. Honestly, I think my main purpose is just to inspire people, especially women at a young age, to pursue not only swimming but sports in general. Our region isn't really big on swimming for females, so I personally want to defy those odds and break the stereotype that says that women, when they reach a certain age, cannot do sports or cannot swim." (fina.org, 10 Dec 2021; arabnews.com, 08 Dec 2021)

TRAINING CHANGE
She admits that she struggled after moving to train in Blacksburg, VA, United States of America, from California to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "Mentally, I wasn't really prepared for how challenging it was going to be outside of swimming. The build-up - physical, mental, emotional - means you're ready to perform, you're literally like a machine ready to explode. Up to 2020, everything in my life was on hold and I was just focusing on swimming. I personally recharge from being social, going out with my friends, having a nice dinner. Because there was nothing to do during the two years in Virginia, I felt like I was always on low battery. I wasn't even mentally recharging. Instead of mentally preparing to compete then, in 2020, I had to extend it for another year [due to the COVID-19 pandemic] in a location that was really hard to be at in the first place. And with the pandemic, there were no breaks, I was just stuck in one place." (arabnews.com, 08 Dec 2021)

EARLY DAYS
She was born in the United States of America while her parents were attending dental school in Indiana. The family moved to Cairo, Egypt, not long after her birth. She returned to the United States of America to study and compete with the University of California, Berkeley. "I had to be away from my family and move to the US since I knew that training in the US was the only way to get the best out of my capabilities and be the best version of myself. [In the US] I felt extremely privileged that I was able to learn the tricks of the trade from the most experienced people in the field, train and compete with the best, understand the discipline required, and focus on the intricacies of the sport which, among many other things, can make all the difference." (tokyo2020.org, 27 May 2020; calbears.com, 23 Feb 2015)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
"I started to fall in love with swimming right from the beginning. Just being in the water makes me feel really good. In the beginning, it started as just learning how to swim, but then trainers kept nagging my parents about making me participate in age-group swimming. They saw potential in me, and wanted me to take part in championships."

 Competition Highlights
Olympic Games
Rank Year Venue Event Result
20 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Butterfly 58.69
33 2021 Tokyo, JPN 100m Freestyle 55.74
24 2021 Tokyo, JPN 50m Freestyle 25.13
Heats 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 50m Freestyle 24.91
Semifinal 2016 Rio de Janeiro, BRA 100m Butterfly 58.26
Heats 2012 London, ENG 50m Freestyle 26.34
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
15 2024 Doha, QAT 100m Butterfly 59.12
3 2024 Doha, QAT 50m Butterfly 25.67
Semifinal 2024 Doha, QAT 50m Freestyle 25.07
Heats 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 100m Butterfly 59.09
4 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 50m Butterfly 25.62
Semifinal 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 50m Freestyle 25.34
7 2022 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 57.66
4 2022 Budapest, HUN 50m Butterfly 25.38
Heats 2022 Budapest, HUN 50m Freestyle  DNS
Heats 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Butterfly 58.43
3 2019 Gwangju, KOR 50m Butterfly 25.47
Heats 2019 Gwangju, KOR 100m Freestyle 54.93
Heats 2019 Gwangju, KOR 50m Freestyle  DNS
Heats 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Butterfly 58.67
3 2017 Budapest, HUN 50m Butterfly 25.39
Semifinal 2017 Budapest, HUN 50m Freestyle 24.62
Heats 2017 Budapest, HUN 100m Freestyle 55.52
5 2015 Kazan, RUS 50m Butterfly 25.78
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 100m Butterfly 58.48
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 100m Freestyle 55.46
Heats 2015 Kazan, RUS 50m Freestyle 25.22
Heats 2013 Barcelona, ESP 100m Butterfly 59.85
Heats 2013 Barcelona, ESP 100m Freestyle 56.84
7 2013 Barcelona, ESP 50m Butterfly 26.17
Heats 2013 Barcelona, ESP 50m Freestyle  DNS
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 50m Butterfly 27.78
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 100m Butterfly 1:03.21
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 100m Freestyle 59.45
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 50m Freestyle 26.77
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
8 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 100m Butterfly 57.01
Heats 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 100m Freestyle 54.42
Semifinal 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 50m Butterfly 25.49
Semifinal 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 50m Freestyle 24.49
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 50m Butterfly 27.48
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 100m Butterfly 1:02.15
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 50m Backstroke 30.49
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 50m Freestyle 26.07
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 100m Freestyle 57.34
Heats 2010 Dubai, UAE 100m Individual Medley 1:07.52
African Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2018 Algiers, ALG 100m Butterfly 59.03
1 2018 Algiers, ALG 50m Freestyle 25.11
2 2018 Algiers, ALG 100m Freestyle 56.80
1 2018 Algiers, ALG 50m Butterfly 26.16
1 2018 Algiers, ALG 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:36.94
2 2018 Algiers, ALG 4 x 100m Medley Relay 4:15.96
1 2018 Algiers, ALG 4 x 100m Medley Relay 3:55.88
2 2018 Algiers, ALG 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:55.27
3 2010 Casablanca, MAR 100m Butterfly 1:02.05
2 2010 Casablanca, MAR 50m Freestyle 26.72
1 2010 Casablanca, MAR 50m Butterfly 27.28
7 2010 Casablanca, MAR 100m Freestyle 59.19
3 2010 Casablanca, MAR 50m Backstroke 31.39
2 2010 Casablanca, MAR 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 3:58.02
3 2010 Casablanca, MAR 4 x 100m Medley Relay 4:23.38