Manama: A ten-year-old Bahraini girl is making history by being the youngest swimmer to compete in an international championship.
Alzain Tariq Salem, a professional athlete with the Bahrain Swimming Association, is one of two swimmers representing Bahrain in the World Aquatics Championships taking place in Kazan, Russia.
She will compete in the 50m butterfly race on Friday and the 50m freestyle race on Saturday, while 16-year-old Fatima Al Mahmeed will compete in the 50m backstroke and 50m breaststroke races.
Alzain has been training morning and evening at the athletic village where she has been turning heads because of her age, according to her father Tariq Salem who is also a board member at the Bahrain Swimming Association.
“She has been getting a lot of help from the other athletes and she has even been training with some swimmers that are world champions,” he told the GDN yesterday.
“Everyone in the village asks for her name and age.
“You see all the athletes and coaches stay in a place called the athlete’s village and she is wearing an athletes badge so people know she is competing and are very curious.”
He said Alzain trained up to nine times a week in Bahrain in preparation for the
competition, which will end on August 9.
“She is the youngest person to ever compete in the world championship,” he added.
“She has been trained to be both physically and psychologically ready for this and although she is young she is excited to do this.”
Mr Salem said his daughter was groomed to become the youngest athlete to represent Bahrain in the championship, which takes place every
two years.
“There were three people being groomed for this championship as part of the national team – we wanted to make history and that is why Alzain was picked,” he explained.
“She will be competing in an open age category with some swimmers with more experience.
“Germany has entered a 40-year-old swimmer who Alzain will be competing against.
“She will be competing in the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle.”
Alzain has been able to complete the 50m freestyle in 36 seconds and the butterfly in 41 seconds.
The world record for freestyle is held at 24 seconds while for the butterfly is at 26 seconds.
“She will be competing with athletes with a lot more experience but Alzain has some of her own experience as she has been competing in her age category internationally for almost two years,” added Mr Salem.
“This will be the first time she will compete in an open age category and we are hoping she will finish the freestyle in less than 36 seconds and the butterfly in under
40 seconds.”
Alzain is dedicating her participation in the race to her coach Khalifa Ali, who died six months ago.
The championship is being held under the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), which is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competition in aquatics.
A FINA spokeswoman confirmed to the GDN that Alzain was the youngest athlete to compete in the championships.
“She is the youngest to compete,” she said.
The second athlete from Bahrain, 16-year-old Fatima, is part of the Bahrain Elite Swim Team and has competed in regional championships in Doha and Oman.
ahmed@gdn.com.bh
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