Hamza_Abdu

Hamza Abdouh

Hamza Abdouh

Palestinian swimmer

Hamse Ziyad Abdouh (or Hamza Abdu, Arabic: حمزة عبده) (born January 1, 1991[1][2]), is a Palestinian swimmer.

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He represented Palestine at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the lead-up to the Games, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on the difficulties he faced in training for the Olympics, having only an 18-metre pool at his disposal rather than a standard Olympic-sized 50 metre pool.[3] His coach, while noting the support of the Israeli Swimming Association,[4] lamented the travel restrictions imposed on Palestinians citizens by the Israeli occupation and lack of Palestinian funding, which had hampered his training.[2] The British newspaper The Guardian described him, along with Vanuatu's Elis Lapenmal, as one of the Games' "underdogs",[5] and as such he has also been described as a "potential successor to [Eric] Moussambani".[6]

Abdouh is the Palestinian record holder for the 100-metre freestyle and 100-metre butterfly.[2] His personal best in the 100-metre freestyle is 56 seconds.[4] He has said that he was inspired to become an Olympic swimmer by his cousin Raed Awisat, who swam for Palestine at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[2] He lives in East Jerusalem.[3]

References

  1. [1]
    Biography Archived 2008-08-17 at the Wayback Machine on the official website of the Beijing Olympics
  2. [2]
    "For Palestinian swimmers, it's a chance to swim", Globe and Mail, July 7, 2008
  3. [3]
    "Palestinian Olympic team face training hurdles", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 7, 2008
  4. [4]
    "Palestinians take hard route to Beijing", Reuters, June 13, 2008
  5. [5]
    "A to Z of the Olympics", The Guardian, June 29, 2008
  6. [6]
    "Lovable losers - the Olympic ideal or waste of space" Archived 2009-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, July 6, 2008
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