81-year-old Egyptian swimmer proves age is a number, wins silver in Doha

NT Burea

Doha: Doha witnessed a unique achievement on Saturday – a woman proving that age is just a number.

At the age of 81, Egyptian swimmer Nagwa Ghorab stunned the onlookers by winning the silver medal at the World Aquatics Masters Championship held in Qatar on Saturday.

Ghorab finished second in the Women’s Masters 50m freestyle event, clocking a time of 47.88 seconds.

Interestingly, the gold medal was claimed by 80-year-old Sevigny Lanthier Madelei from Canada, who finished at 37.69 seconds.

The World Aquatics Masters Championships, Doha 2024, took place in Qatar from 23 February to 3 March 2024.

Nagwa Ghorab, an inspiring Egyptian woman, has defied time and achieved remarkable feats in the world of swimming.

Born in Damanhur, Egypt in 1943, she was a champion swimmer for Egypt at the age of 14. However, she retired as the country’s swimming foundation at the time did not provide opportunities for high-level competition for adults.

“It was a challenging time for me,” Ghorab told The National.

“During that period, I continued swimming as a regular sport, but I am not an ordinary swimmer. I am a competitive swimmer in the water. I only feel happy when there is a strong competitor next to me so I can surpass them,” she added.

Ghorab eventually returned to swimming in her sixties, undeterred by the gap in her swimming career. She firmly believes that age is just a number.

“I challenged my age. I challenged the difficulties to prove that nothing is impossible. Anyone who desires to achieve something can make it happen,” said the determined Egyptian swimmer, Ahran Online reported.