Farida Osman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Farida Osman

Osman in 2008
Personal information
Born	(1995-01-18) 18 January 1995 (age 30) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Height	1.71 m
Weight	58 kg
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Butterfly, freestyle
Club	Gezira Sporting Club
College team	University of California, Berkeley
Medal record Women's swimming Representing  Egypt World Championships (LC) Bronze 2017 Budapest 50 m butterfly Bronze 2019 Gwangju 50 m butterfly Bronze 2024 Doha 50 m butterfly All-Africa Games Gold 2011 Maputo 50m butterfly Gold 2015 Brazzaville 50 m freestyle Gold 2015 Brazzaville 100 m freestyle Gold 2015 Brazzaville 50 m butterfly Gold 2015 Brazzaville 100 m butterfly Gold 2015 Brazzaville 4×100 m mixed medley Silver 2015 Brazzaville 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2015 Brazzaville 4×100 m medley Silver 2015 Brazzaville 4×100 m mixed freestyle Mediterranean Games Gold 2013 Mersin 50 m butterfly Gold 2018 Tarragona 50 m freestyle Gold 2018 Tarragona 50 m butterfly World Junior Championships Gold 2011 Lima 50 m butterfly African Championships Gold 2010 Casablanca 50m fly Silver 2010 Casablanca 50m free Silver 2010 Casablanca 4x100m free relay Bronze 2010 Casablanca 100m fly Bronze 2010 Casablanca 50m back Bronze 2010 Casablanca 4x100m medley relay Junior African Championship Gold 2009 Mauritius 50m fly Gold 2009 Mauritius 50m Free Gold 2009 Mauritius 50m Back Silver 2009 Mauritius 100m Fly Silver 2009 Mauritius 4x100m Free Relay Silver 2009 Mauritius 4x100m Medley Relay Silver 2009 Mauritius 4x200m Free Relay Bronze 2009 Mauritius 100m Free Bronze 2009 Mauritius 100m Back

Farida Hisham Osman (Arabic: فريدة هشام عثمان; born 18 January 1995) is an amazing Egyptian swimmer. She is known for her skills in butterfly and freestyle swimming. Farida is a gold medalist at the All-Africa Games. She is also an Egyptian national champion and holds many records.

Farida Osman is the fastest female swimmer in both Egypt and Africa. She has set senior national records in butterfly, freestyle, and backstroke events. She also holds African records in the 50m and 100m butterfly races. Her coach is Teri McKeever.

Early Life and Start in Swimming

Farida Osman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, in 1995. She grew up in Cairo, Egypt. Her parents, Hisham Osman and Randa Elsalawy, are both dentists.

Farida started swimming at age five with her brother Ahmed. They swam at the Gezira Sporting Club. She first went to the Oasis French School in Cairo. Later, she attended the French Embassy's Lycée Français du Caire. She also studied at the Cairo American College.

Farida's Swimming Journey

When she was younger, Farida took a break from swimming. She wanted to try synchronized swimming. At age 11, she returned to competitive swimming. She quickly won national titles in 50m and 100m freestyle and butterfly. This earned her the "Best Swimmer" award.

At just 12 years old, Farida was chosen to represent Egypt. She competed at the 11th Pan Arab Games in Cairo. She was the youngest athlete on the team. Farida swam in the 50m, 100m freestyle, and 50m and 100m butterfly events. She broke the Arab record for the 50m butterfly. This made her the youngest Egyptian and Arab athlete to win that event.

Farida Osman at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan.

In the same year, she competed at the All Africa Games. She finished fifth in the 50m butterfly. Farida continued to compete in many international events. She even traveled to the United States for a summer camp. There, she swam for the Bear Swimming Team in Berkeley, California.

Major Achievements in Swimming

World Junior Championship Success

At the 3rd FINA FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru, Farida surprised everyone. She became the world junior champion in the 50m butterfly. She set a new world junior championship record with a time of 26.69. This amazing win helped Egypt rank 11th on the medal charts. This was the highest rank for any African or Arab nation in a long time.

First World Championship Experience

Farida was one of the youngest swimmers at the 13th FINA 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy. She placed 50th in the 50m butterfly. Her time of 27.78 made her the fastest swimmer in the world for her age group.

Dominating at Junior African Championships

After the World Championships, Farida went to Mauritius. She represented Egypt at the 8th Junior African Championship. She won gold in the 50m freestyle, setting a new Junior African record. She also broke another Junior African record in her best event, the 50m butterfly. Farida also won gold in the 50m backstroke. She earned silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

Competing at the Olympics

Farida Osman represented Egypt at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. She competed in the 50m freestyle event.

Making History at World Aquatics Championships

At the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, Farida made history. She set a new African Record in the 50m butterfly. She became the first Egyptian swimmer to reach a final at the World Aquatics Championships. She finished 7th in the 50m butterfly final. This was the best result ever for an Egyptian pool swimmer in a major international competition.

Bronze Medal at 2017 World Championships

At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, Farida won a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly event. She set a new African record with her time of 25.39s. She also set a new African record in the 50m freestyle.

Winning Big at NCAA Championships

At the 2017 NCAA championships, Farida won first place in the 100 Yard butterfly. She also helped her team win first place in two relay events: the 200 Yard freestyle relay and the 200 Yard medley relay. She also won third place in the 400 Yard freestyle relay.

Mediterranean Games Champion

At the 2018 Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain, Farida won three medals for Egypt. She earned two gold medals and one silver. She won gold in the 50m freestyle, setting a new Mediterranean Game record. She also won gold in the 50m butterfly, setting another new record. Farida won a silver medal in the 100m butterfly. She was one of the most successful athletes at the Games.

Farida's Best Times

Here are some of Farida Osman's personal best times in long course swimming:

Long course
Event	Time	Meet Name	Meet City	Meet Country	Date	Note(s)
50m freestyle	24.62	2017 FINA World Championships	Budapest	Hungary	29 July 2017	NR, AF
100m freestyle	54.93	2019 FINA World Championships	Gwangju	South Korea	25 July 2019	NR
50m butterfly	25.38	2022 FINA World Championships	Budapest	Hungary	24 June 2022	NR,AF
100m butterfly	57.66	2022 FINA World Championships	Budapest	Hungary	19 June 2022	NR
50m backstroke	30.25	Arab Games	Doha	Qatar	19 December 2011	NR

Awards and Special Recognition

Farida Osman has received many awards for her amazing swimming career:

• In 2017, she was named the Best Female Athlete from Africa by the Association Of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
• She won the Mohamed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum Creative Sport Award in 2017 for her outstanding achievements.
• She was named the African Female Swimmer of the Year by Swimswam.com's Swammy Awards multiple times (2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017).
• Swimming World magazine also chose her as the 2017 Female African Swimmer of the Year.
• She received the Tom Hansen Medal as the top female athlete at the University of California Berkeley for the 2016/17 season.
• In 2019, the BBC recognized her as one of their 100 inspiring women.

See also

• Muslim women in sport