ACC Champion Abdelrahman Elaraby Chooses Notre Dame for 5th Year of Eligibility

ACC Champion Abdelrahman Elaraby has announced that he will transfer to Notre Dame for the 2023-2024 NCAA swimming & diving season. There he will use his bonus 5th year of COVID eligibility to pursue a master’s degree in non-profit administration.

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Elaraby won the ACC title last season in the 50 free for Louisville, less than a year after attempting suicide.

“I have never shared this before, but in my right arm, due to the IVs and seizures, one my nerves was really injured,” Elaraby told SwimSwam when he entered the portal. “It restricted my range of motion, I lost control and feel in few of my fingers, and so I had to work on that aspect for a long time with physical therapy and physicians.”

At Notre Dame, he will find a number of familiar faces in the second-year staff that is heavy on Cardinal connections. Head coach Chris Lindauer and associate coach Kameron Chastain were coaches at Louisville prior to making the move north last season; associate coach Kelsi Dahlia and assistant coach Trevor Carroll are former Louisville swimmers as well.

Best Times in Yards:

• 50 free – 18.79
• 100 free – 41.94
• 100 fly – 45.60

His movement between ACC teams results in a big point swing – he scored 52 of them at last year’s ACC Championships. That would have been Notre Dame’s 3rd-highest scorer at the meet. Louisville finished 3rd with 981.5 points, and Notre Dame was 5th with 799.5 points.

It also gives Notre Dame a huge boost in their relays: last year, sophomore Chris Guiliano was 3rd at ACCs in the 50 free in 18.93. The Irish lacked a little bit of depth in the sprints, but Elaraby joining the team should give them big relay-scoring opportunities at the ACC Championships.

Elaraby has used his platform over the last year to advocate for mental health and speak out about his own struggles. An inspirational post-race interview after his ACC title encouraged others to “(not) lose the war” with mental health. That video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, at least, online.

Internationally, Elaraby won a silver medal in the 50 fly at the 2018 Mediteranean Games and a bronze medal in the 50 free at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. A native of Egypt, Elaraby is the Egyptian Record holder in the 50 fly in long course meters (23.11), and also holds a pair of short course meters African Records as part of Egyptian relays.

The ACC abolished intraconference transfer rules in 2021, so Elaraby will be eligible to compete for Notre Dame right away.