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SWIMMING ACE Sarah Alfalaij hopes to make a splash at the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games and impress her friends and family in Bahrain as the first athlete ever to compete in the Olympics while still enrolled in a Department of Defence Dependents School (DODDS).
She will be representing the kingdom in the 50 metre freestyle event on the same day she celebrates her 17th birthday.
The August 3 date with destiny comes after months of gruelling training sessions at the Khalifa Sports City Swimming Pool in Isa Town and trying to perfect her strokes in Florida before taking up the challenge.
Talking to GulfWeekly from the US swimming camp, she said: “To all my supporters out there, I hope you will cheer for me!
“I am the only girl swimmer representing the kingdom and I’m very proud to have this opportunity. The training in Florida has been difficult at times but has also been good preparation for the challenge of the Olympics ahead.
“I have been training twice a day with former Olympic coach Jay Fitzgerald, Olympic swimmer Mariusz Podkoscielny and my Bahrain coach Tariq Salem.
“I hope to achieve my personal best time and make my parents proud because they have done so much for me. They have done everything to help me – like allowing me to attend this camp.”
Alfalaij’s Bahraini father, Abdulrahman, a psychologist at the University of Bahrain and her American mother, Carrie, who works for the Defence Logistics Agency at the US base in Bahrain, introduced Sarah to the sport, enrolling her in swimming lessons.
She had tried out for tennis, which her 13-year-old brother Ryan plays, but she opted to concentrate on swimming and quickly showed her potential and prowess at the sport.
In 2010 Alfalaij was invited to join the Bahrain girls swim team for the International Children’s Games held in the kingdom.
And, the 16-year-old Bahrain School pupil from Sanad qualified with a wild card for the Olympics after participating in the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai last summer.
Alfalaij’s schedule in recent days has been hectic, training in the pool from 7am to 9am, followed by breakfast, an hour in the gym and then hitting the classroom for an instruction on technique. She had lunch and was back in the water from 4pm to 6pm followed by dinner and an early night.
She is currently working with some of the sport’s most illustrious names. Podkoscielny was a former freestyle swimmer from Poland, who twice competed at the Summer Olympics: in 1988 and 1992. Since 2003, he has been a swimming coach for the University of Miami and now he is coaching and teaching history at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Podkoscielny is helping Alfalaij alongside head coach Fitzgerald who was recently inducted in the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
This year’s Olympics will give the youngster much-needed experience at the highest competitive level and she hopes her hard work will result in a time under 30 seconds.
She has a massive task ahead to try and get amongst the medals. German Britta Steffen, 28, is the current holder of the world record in women’s 50 metre freestyle with a time of 23.73 seconds.
But nothing will take away Alfalaij’s achievements to date or her record-breaking appearance at the London Olympics.
The DODDS public affairs officer Bob Purtiman told the Stars and Stripes American newspaper: “There have been DODDS students who have competed in the Olympics after their school years were over, but DODDS has no record of anyone being in the Olympics while still enrolled.”
Bahrain School principal Doug McEnery added: “Regardless of how Alfalaij does in this summer’s event, it’s a great opportunity. Just the fact that you’re getting to represent your country and get to compete against the best in the world is pretty nice.
“And she really represents the Olympic ideals. Not just as an athlete, but how she conducts herself all the time.”
Alfalaij said she still cannot believe her luck, adding: “I loved being in the water ever since my first swimming lesson.
“When I saw an article in the local newspaper saying that Bahrain was looking to put together a girl’s swim team for the International Children’s Games in 2010 I tried out and was accepted.
“The Bahraini coaches asked if I wanted to continue to practice and compete and I was very excited to do so.
“I would like to continue competing for Bahrain throughout my college years and for as long as I can. I hope to go to university in the US and carry on with competitive swimming. I believe this will benefit me and help me improve my times representing Bahrain as well.”
