The Lebanese swimming team shone during its participation in the Arab Aquatics Championships in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
It crowned its performance by winning the titles in the girls’ 13-14 and 15-16 categories. The boys’ 13-14 category title went to Tunisia, while the 15-16 category was won by Qatar.
Algeria won the championship in the 17-18 age group for both boys and girls. Lebanese swimmers won a total of 55 medals in various events, including 24 gold medals, tied with the Algerian team, as well as 16 silver and 15 bronze medals. In addition, Tia Obeid set a new championship record by winning gold in the 50-meter breaststroke for the 13-14 age group with a time of 33:39 seconds.
Lebanon’s Tia Obeid won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:15:31 minutes on the third day of the championship. In addition, Lynn el-Hajj won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke for the 15-16 age group in 1:11:32 minutes. The following day, Lynn Hajj won another gold medal in the 200-meter medley race in 2:25:26 minutes, while Laurie Awad took silver in 2:25:95. Taline Mourad won gold in the 200-meter backstroke for the 15-16 age group in 2:24:29 minutes.
In the men’s competition, Carl Ghanem won silver in the 50-meter freestyle for the 17-18 age group in 23:68 seconds, and Ahmad Safiya took silver in the 200-meter medley for the same age group in 2:10:13 minutes. Majd Hijazi won bronze in the 1,500-meter freestyle for the 17-18 age group in 16:35:77 minutes.
On the final day of the championship, the Lebanese team won seven gold medals, one silver medal and six bronze medals. The gold medals included the 4 x 100-meter relay for the 13-14 age group and individual performances in various disciplines.
The Lebanese delegation was led by the Secretary General of the Lebanese Swimming Federation, Farid Abi Raad, and included coaches Georges Yazbek, François Ghattas and Mohamed Sakr.
