Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Sports Talk: Our greatest swimmer deserved better
Published in Daily News Egypt on 25 - 04 - 2008

The passing away of Abdel-Latif Abu Heif did not elicit the kind of response from the media or the public that an icon should be accorded. The death of the greatest swimmer -- actually the greatest athlete -- Egypt has ever produced was given such scant attention that if you blinked you missed the news. Abu Heif died peacefully in the Armed Forced Hospital in Maadi on Monday at 79, leaving behind a legacy most likely never to be emulated. From 1951-1975 Abu Heif ruled the waves like no other human, or some fish. He was the first man to cross the English Channel three times, the first time in 1951 at age 22, the youngest to do so at the time. Crossing the Channel was much talked about in the 1950s and his 1953 crossing set a world record of 13:45 hours. His conquering of the Channel attracted a group of US scientists to Cairo who extracted a drop of Abu Heif's blood to try to fathom how he could last 14 hours in 10 C waters as he plied the 41-kilometre distance between Dover and Calais. If they're not already listed in Believe it or Not, Abu Heif's exploits should be. In 1965, in the Montreal race of 30 hours duration in which relay teams took turns, each member swimming one hour, Abu Heif's Italian partner went straight to hospital after swimming for just a half hour. Abu Heif continued solo and came first. In Argentina in 1975 in the Rosario championship he swam 250 kilometers in 60 hours, a feat never accomplished before or after. For his achievements, in 1963 he was voted the best swimmer in history by the International Professionals Long-Distance Swimming Federation and the US Swimming Higher Council. In May 2001 Abu Heif was unanimously named the long-distance swimmer of the century by the International Swimming Federation. He was also named world swimming champion five times. I had the honor of meeting Abu Heif, albeit fleetingly, in October last year.
He had come to pay his last respects to my father-in-law, Sedik Lemay, a star footballer for Ahly in the 1960s. His frailty obvious, Abu Heif had come to the funeral shortly before a doctor's appointment for what I guessed was another of those endless checkups. He did not sit down with us, just shook hands with the immediate family members, introduced himself as Abdel-Latif Abu Heif (who needs no introduction), then left by car driven by what looked like a chauffeur even though Abu Heif sat in the front seat. His humility was rare, as was his benevolence. He gave his English Channel prize of £1,000, a fortune then, to the seven children of a British swimmer who drowned in 1954 attempting to cross the Channel. He also gave the money he won in Nantes to a French swimmer who had become paralyzed.
He donated prize money from an international race to the family of an Egyptian swimmer who had drowned. In one website dedicated to illustrious Egyptians, Abu Heif is in the company of -- or is it the other way around -- Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak, Naguib Mahfouz, Ahmed Zuweil, Boutros Ghali, Mohamed Baradei, Dalida, Omar Sherif, Sayed Darwish, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, Um Kulthoum, Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen, Mohamed Ali, Magdi Yacoub and Mohamed El-Fayed. He is the only athlete mentioned. Had he been American, Abu Heif would have vied with Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis for the title of the best athlete in history. That he achieved worldwide acclaim without a US or other Western passport is testimony to his greatness. And yet for all this, Abu Heif's death was forgotten by the next day, his exploits probably too far back to generate popular notice. But he deserved much more. These days, any fifth rate footballer playing on a 10th rate club is feted wherever he goes, and so-called superstars are a dime a dozen. But only a handful truly deserve the attention and can be called the real McCoy. END


Clic here to read the story from its source.