Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Dr. Ahmed Rashad Sallam, originally from Alexandria, represented Egypt as one of its top open water swimmers in a long string of international races over the course of several years.
The professor of international and business law has always possessed a philosophical view of open water swimming.
“Swimming was my life. I enjoy being in the water. I feel that I have more endurance than the other competitors and learned to be patient and not to consume all my energy. I saved my best for the finish.”
Dr. Sallam finished second in the 1987 Windermere World Championships and swam in both English Channel as a member of the Egyptian National Team’s crossing in 1987. He won a gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle in the All-African Swimming Championships in Kenya in 1984.
He also competed in the World Open Rivers Championships in Egypt in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991, the 1988 World 25 km Swimming Championships in Lake Zurich in 1988, the 1986 World 17 km Open Water Swimming Championships in Evian, Switzerland in 1986, the 18 km 1986 Palermo race in Italy and the 25 km race in Sabac, Yugoslavia in 1985.
Dr. Sallam bridged a gap in the Egyptian open water swimming history between his most famous Egyptian marathon swimming predecessor Abdull Latif Abo-Heif – who was voted the greatest marathon swimmer of the 20th century – and the most recent Egyptian successors including Olympic 10K Marathon Swim participants, Mohamed El Zanaty and Mazen Aziz.
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