Video: Young swimmer rescues fainting competitor mid-race in Alexandria

A young Egyptian swimmer saved his teammate’s life after the latter fainted during a 100-meter freestyle race. During the qualifying rounds of the Alexandria Summer Swimming Championship, a swimmer lost consciousness in his lane. Recognizing the danger, his teammate, Adam Mohamed Refaat—competing in the adjacent lane—acted instantly, swimming over to pull him out of the water in a rapid response that prevented the situation from worsening. Once he was brought out of the pool, medical personnel and organizers intervened to administer the necessary first aid until his condition stabilized. The courageous actions of the Raya Club athlete drew widespread praise from attendees, who called for him to be officially honored for his heroic act. A previous tragedy The incident brought back memories of the tragedy involving junior swimmer Youssef Mohamed, who drowned after losing consciousness during a race at the National Championship at Cairo Stadium last year. Back in February, the Cairo Misdemeanor Court sentenced several defendants in the drowning case—including the chief referee and three rescue crew members—to three years in prison with a bail of LE 10,000 each. The ruling also imposed a fine of LE 5,000 on the President of the Swimming Federation, members of its board of directors, the executive director, the head of the competitions committee, and the tournament director, following their conviction for negligence and dereliction of duty, while acquitting them of involuntary manslaughter charges.