South Carolina All-American Marwan El Kamash to Transfer to Indiana

2015 South Carolina Honorable Mention All-American Marwan el Kamash is transferring to Indiana University next season, he announced on Friday.

El Kamash spent three years in Columbia, and earned honorable-mention All-America honors last season as a junior by leading off South Carolina’s 800 free relay in a relay-best 1:34.70.

In between now and the start of the next academic year in the fall, el Kamash will prepare for the Olympic Games back on his native continent of Africa. The Egyptian National has joined the South African-based training group of Graham Hill. Hill is the head coach of the South African National Team and the personal coach of Olympic champion Chad le Clos.

“My recent results have made me think about other options, and I therefore planned on giving swimming a little more focus so I decided to move to South Africa to train under coach Graham Hill’s guidance and with his squad,” El Kamash said.

With regard to the choice to switch NCAA squads, El Kamash said that he wants to “join their strong middle distance program.”

He has already earned Olympic qualifying times in the 200 free (1:47.73) and 400 free (4:48.15) at the Arena Pro Swim Series meet at Charlotte last year. The former of those times is an Egyptian National Record, and the latter is a tenth-short of the National Record held by his former South Carolina teammate Ahmed Akram.

Individually, El Kamash didn’t qualify for NCAAs last year, but he did place 6th at SECs in the 200 free. He finished his career at South Carolina ranking 2nd in the 200 free, 5th in the 500 free, 5th in the 1650 free, and 6th in the 100 free in school history, and was also a part of the school-record-holding 400 free relay, 800 free relay, and 400 medley relay.

Without El Kamash, South Carolina finished 10th in the 200 and 400 free relays and the 400 medley relay; 9th in the 200 medley relay; and 6th in the 800 free relay.