Hamse Abdouh

Hamse Abdouh (or Hamza Abdu, _ar. حمزة عبده), born January 1, 1991 [ [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/9/241329.shtml Biography] on the official website of the Beijing Olympics] [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080707.wswimmers07/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview "For Palestinian swimmers, it's a chance to swim"] , "Globe and Mail", July 7, 2008] , is a Palestinian swimmer.

He will represent 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. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2268010.htm "Palestinian Olympic team face training hurdles"] , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 7, 2008] His coach, while noting assistance from the Israeli swimming association [ [http://uk.reuters.com/article/featuresNews/idUKL016479720080615 "Palestinians take hard route to Beijing"] , Reuters, June 13, 2008] , lamented the lack of funding from Palestinian authorities, which had hampered his training. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080707.wswimmers07/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview "For Palestinian swimmers, it's a chance to swim"] , "Globe and Mail", July 7, 2008] The British newspaper "The Guardian" described him, along with Vanuatu's Elis Lapenmal, as one of the Games' "underdogs" [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jun/29/olympicgames2008.olympicgames1 "A to Z of the Olympics"] , "The Guardian", June 29, 2008] , and as such he has also been described as a "potential successor to (Eric) Moussambani". [ [http://www.france24.com/en/20080706-lovable-losers-olympic-ideal-or-waste-space "Lovable losers - the Olympic ideal or waste of space"] , AFP, July 6, 2008]

Abdouh is the Palestinian record holder for the 100-metre freestyle and 100-metre butterfly. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080707.wswimmers07/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview "For Palestinian swimmers, it's a chance to swim"] , "Globe and Mail", July 7, 2008] His personal best in the 100-metre freestyle is 56 seconds. [ [http://uk.reuters.com/article/featuresNews/idUKL016479720080615 "Palestinians take hard route to Beijing"] , Reuters, June 13, 2008] 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. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080707.wswimmers07/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview "For Palestinian swimmers, it's a chance to swim"] , "Globe and Mail", July 7, 2008] He lives in East Jerusalem. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2268010.htm "Palestinian Olympic team face training hurdles"] , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 7, 2008]

External links

* [http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=photo&photo_id=0bUU5CxbH75vR&tid=07kk9Tr98p9nq&pn=1 "Palestinian swimmer Hamza Abdu swims during a practice session in Jerusalem May 30, 2008."] , Reuters image.
* [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/9/241329.shtml Biography] on the official website of the Beijing Olympics

References