By Daily Sports on January 29, 2019
If dedication alone was a passport to glory, 76-year-old Egyptian swimmer Nagwa Yousef Ghorab would have won capfuls of medals by now.
She first took to the pool at age four and became her country’s under-16 backstroke and freestyle champion at 14.
She had to stop competing domestically at 18 because Egypt at that time ran no championships for adult swimmers – but she kept on training through the decades.
“I am proving to you and to everyone that age is no obstacle if you have the will, and if you have positivity in life,” Ghorab told Reuters.
Adult competition finally resumed in Egypt in 2005, and she reached the international podium for the first time ten years later, winning two bronze medals at an event in Russia.
“It had been inside me for 60 years, waiting to be released,” she said. “…I wanted to excel at an international level. I did not want anyone to beat me. After all, I was competing in the name of my country.”
Now in training for a championship in South Korea, her coach, Haytham Sabry, says she has the heart of a 20-year-old.
“She is determined when it’s cold and when it’s hot. She still shows up every day to train. There is no championship that she does not wish to participate in,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)
•Photo shows Egyptian swimmer Nagwa Ghorab, 76, swims underwater during her training session in Cairo, Egypt January 27, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Source Daily Sports
Posted January 29, 2019
You may also like...
Pogba credits Solsjkaer for new lease of life...
Schumacher coming out 'sends positive message' - Hamilton...
NFF Election 2022: The Case Against Amaju Pinnick’s...
Arteta: It’s A Privilege To Manage Unique Arsenal...
Gomes Suffers Horror Injury As Everton Deny Tottenham...
Oxlade-Chamberlain could return to training in February

Important Lessons From 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP FINALS: Dear Ibrahim Gusau, It's Time To Resign Honorably
Nnadozie tops WSL keepers’ chart
FULL LIST: Unai Simón joins World Cup clean-sheet greats as Barthez, Shilton remain joint leaders
Ashe declares readiness for Commonwealth Games
Amusan secures 2026 Diamond League final spot
Nigerians demand NFF overhaul after Eagles’ W’Cup absence
France, Spain battle for place in World Cup final
NSC hails Junior D’Tigers after AfroBasket qualification
Nigeria beat Burundi in Billie Jean King Cup opener
Falcons storm Casablanca camp ahead of WAFCON
Nwabali returns to Chippa United
I won’t let Pillars down – Ogunmodede
Rangers International going, going . . . (63,952 views)
Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (55,292 views)
Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (53,204 views)
Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (52,810 views)
Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (52,694 views)
Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (52,562 views)
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (52,451 views)
NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (51,968 views)
Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (51,186 views)
Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (49,653 views)
Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (48,131 views)
John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (47,520 views)