Egyptian swimmer Farida Osman beat the African record for women’s 50-meter butterfly in Santa Clara in the U.S. on Saturday.

“I'm really happy with my record because I know I'm moving in the right direction now,” Osman told Al Arabiya News.

“It feels great to be ranked now 12th on the world list,” she said.

Osman broke her own record by improving the previous timing of 26.12 seconds to 26.08 at the Arena Pro Swim Series.

Her recent achievements made her jump to 12th place in 2015’s world rankings for 50m butterfly.

The Egyptian swimmer was followed by Daynara De Paula who finished second in 26.37 and Wisconsin’s Ivy Martin taking third in 26.42.

Speaking about the main factors which motivated her to move forward in her aquatic career, the 20-year-old, said: “My family, my friends and my achievements kept me going because I felt I moved a long way.”

“Also seeing my teammates' dedication at Cal and how they believe in themselves and how Coach [Teri] McKeever believes in us really motivated me.”

Osman moved to California after finishing high school in the Egyptian capital to study in UC Berkeley in 2013 where she made an immediate impact on the Cal squad.

Her coach, McKeever, remembers Osman’s first year Cal: "I think she always wanted to be good and be the best, but I don't think she really knew what that entailed ... Egypt is not exactly the hotbed of swimming."

Cal is known for having one of the best collegiate swim programs in the United States.

The Egyptian-raised woman also said that being put “in the right environment where I can balance between my studies and training” also helped her making “great achievements.”

The swimmer, who started competing at the age of 11, added that she was aiming high for the summer world championships in Kazan/Russia as well as the summer Olympics in Rio 2016.

Osman was born in Indianapolis 1995 before moving to Cairo where she started swimming at the age of five.

She started being recognized at home in 2012 after being the only female swimmer representing Egypt at the London Olympics the same year. She finished 41st in the 50 freestyle.



Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:46 - GMT 06:46