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8 African Swimmers Who Have Olympic Medal Hopes

8 African Swimmers Who Have Olympic Medal Hopes

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The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio is set to be a sporting highlight in August, with a number of African swimmers making their way to Brazil to compete with the world’s best in the hope of winning an Olympic medal.

Swimming has become a discipline where Africans have been able to make a difference and break records in the past, and Rio 2016 will no doubt continue that trend.

Here we take a closer look at 8 African swimmers representing nations on the continent who have Olympic medal hopes.

Source: SwimSwam, SuperSport, AfricaNews, TimesLive, Sport24, SFChronicle, Sport360.

South African Medallists - South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh
SA swimmer Cameron van der Burgh – thomsonreuters.com

Cameron Van Der Burgh – South Africa

Van der Burgh will be expected to feature amongst the South African swimming medallists at the aquatics centre in Rio, with his speciality breaststroke set to see him competing for medals in one or two swimming events. He achieved gold at London 2012 in the 100m breaststroke, and will aim to earn gold once again.

Oussama Mellouli is a Tunisian swimming champion
Oussama Mellouli is a Tunisian swimming champion – Claude Grunitzky

Oussama Mellouli – Tunisia

The Tunisian will be competing in his fifth Olympic games in Rio this August, and this will give him a chance to defend the gold medal he won at London 2012. He earned gold in the men’s 10km open water race, and a bronze in the 1500m freestyle, securing his place amongst the list of successful African Olympians.

African Swimmers - Swimmer Chad Le Clos
Swimmer Chad Le Clos – timeslive.co.za

Chad Le Clos – South Africa

The golden boy of South African swimming, Le Clos is expecting to return home from the 2016 Olympics with a medal or two in tow. The butterfly expert is looking to win medals in his speciality at the games, with the 200m, 100m and 50m events likely to see him amongst the medals.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe – zimnewsnow.com

Kirsty Coventry – Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean swimmer is a two-time Olympic gold medallist is ranked 18th in the world this year, and she will be swimming in her fifth Olympic Games in Rio. She is expected to be one of the stars of her favoured backstroke event.

Swimmer Myles Brown
Swimmer Myles Brown – swimmingworldmagazine.com

Myles Brown – South Africa

Distance swimmer Brown has refined his swimming ability since changing his focus from the 800m and 1500m freestyle to the 200m and 400m freestyle last year. He is another of the African swimmers who will be looking to perform at his best in Rio as part of Team SA.

Egyptian swimmer Farida Osman
Egyptian swimmer Farida Osman – sport360.com

Farida Osman – Egypt

At only 21 years of age, Osman is on track to compete at her second Olympics in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly, and will be in confident mood after a fine year in which she has broken numerous national records. She is part of a five person Egyptian swim team going to Rio, but she is the only female in the team.

SA swimmer Christopher Reid
SA swimmer Christopher Reid – timeslive.co.za

Christopher Reid – South Africa

South African swimmer Reid is ranked 11th in the world for the 100m backstroke, with his personal best time of 53:12 only a single second off the best time of the year, held by American David Plummer. He has qualified to represent SA at the Rio Games, as one of the African swimmers with serious talent.

Ahmed Akram swims for Egypt
Ahmed Akram swims for Egypt – egyptianstreets.com

Ahmed Akram – Egypt

Egyptian Youth Olympic champion Ahmed Akram wrote his name in history at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing when he won gold in the 800m freestyle to become the first swimmer from his country to win a medal at an Olympic event. He will be aiming to replicate that achievement in Brazil this August.