The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Featured image via masrawy.com

Since our days in high school, sports have been quite a challenge for many of us. Not everyone manages to balance between playing sports and keeping up with their studies or career, depending on which stage in life they are. On the other hand, there are those who consider sports to be a type of fuel that keeps them going, despite any obstacles or life barriers, which brings us to Women of Egypt’s latest featured heroine, the 70-year-old swimmer, Sohair El Attar.

Social media went crazy yesterday with a viral post about El Attar, who is proving that age is just a number. A quick brief on our champion; she is a pathology professor at Cairo University, mother of two engineers (a boy and a girl), and a world-class swimmer associated with El-Gezira Sporting Club; she’s definitely an inspirational role model to all of us.

In an exclusive interview with Kalam Setat, El-Attar discussed her deep passion for the sport since a very young age. She also elaborated that athletics always secured a place in her life, as she pursued other activities like running, biking, and has participated in various triathlons. Her “addiction” was temporarily put on hold when she got married and became a mother, but that never stopped her from following her passion, even if it was just for fun. Things took a more professional turn when she turned 55 years old, and participated in her first national competition.

After diving back into the game, a series of diverse international competitions soon followed, including the 2015 Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Masters Championship in Russia, and the 2017 championship in Budapest. Her most recent accomplishment took place last August when she participated in the 18^th edition of the World Masters Championship in Gwangju, South Korea (age group 70-74), where she won the silver medal in the women’s 200m backstroke, 4^th place in the 400m freestyle, as well as the 50m and 100m backstroke, according to Women of Egypt. Check out the FINA official website for more details.  

Here’s to more triumphs and medals to come!