The Egyptian Ministry for Youth and Sports has honored African Record holder and two-time Olympian Farida Osman with a swimming pool complex sporting the former Cal Golden Bear’s name: The Farida Osman Swimming Complex.
Osman, who was present for the ribbon cutting, said on Instagram that she was “Extremely honored and proud” of the recognition.
Since a breakout performance at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Osman has become a celebrity in Egypt for her accomplishments in the pool. In Budapest, Osman won Egypt’s first-ever world championships swimming medal by nabbing bronze in the 50 butterfly. Osman has owned the African Record in the 50 meter butterfly since 2013 and has reset it on several occasions, including twice in one day of racing in Budapest.
Osman also owns the African Record in the 100 fly, which she set at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games where she finished in 12th.
I honestly see that the discussions are completely off point. She is a champ that made something nice to her country and her country is proud of her.She worked hard and achieved. Full stop. If she was from a different nationality would we have saw all these comments! She is an inspiration and a hero. Congratulations Farida??well deserved
If she was from China, Russia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia Syria I would indeed
Congrats Farida!
wow, congratulations!
Shilling out to a corrupt government
Not disagreeing with your assessment of that government, but to hold Osman responsible for that same when all she is doing is expressing gratitude for having a swim complex named after her is as silly as saying that every American swimmer at Rio was shilling for Barack Obama’s policies, or that every American swimmer in Tokyo will be shilling for Donald Trump’s policies.
She’s a 23-year-old swimmer, for crying out loud. Why not hold her responsible for the excesses of Hosni Mubarak (who left office in 2011) while we’re at it? For that matter, why don’t we blame her for the “curse of the pharaohs,” the ill luck which supposedly besets anybody who disturbs a mummy in the Pyramids.… Read more »
She has a responsibility to not accept things in her honor from a government that is deeply corrupted and not truly democratic. Comparing the Egyptian government to ours is silly
She’s promoting sport-not politics.
Our government is just as corrupt, just better at hiding it
It’s not but even if it was at least we chose those leaders in a somewhat open democratic election.
Democracy is where the power rests with the people. Unless you missed it, we are having problems with that here. It seems the wealthy are more equal than the 99%.
“A responsibility”? What utter nonsense. And by “our” government, do you mean the one that clearly had Russian help to undermine its own democratic processes? Should I ask you what your responsibility is for that? I think this news is completely positive: she’s a great role model who will help, hopefully, to inspire Egypt’s swimming talent.
Yes! An inspiration to all Egyptians! All you need is the means to travel to America to have your children, then the means to get an education at an American dental school, then the means to come back to Cairo and open a dental practice catering to the rich, so that you can send your kids back to America to get an education and training: neither of which is available in Egypt. Yes, Egyptians, move to America! That’s the way to do it!
Let me get this straight…you’re singling out one woman for studying in America, while giving the 1000s of others a break? Why should people generally, and Egyptians specifically, be unable to move freely to pursue their studies? With your logic, you should be decrying people from all nations who choose to live and study abroad. Your argument, as it is, reeks of hypocrisy and uneven standards.
If we have to wait until Egypt has a truly democratic government, we may have to wait forever. What a silly criticism!
This is not politico, this is Swimswam!! This article is a celebration for an individual achievement.