America University in Cairo (AUC) emerged as the most successful university at the 2024 Federation of African University Sports (FASU) Games, held in Lagos, Nigeria.

The AUC swimming team played a pivotal role in their overall success, securing a remarkable 46 gold medals out of the 81 medals won by the university.

The 2024 FASU Games, the 11th edition of the event, attracted over a thousand athletes from 35 countries. AUC’s 28-member team competed in various sports, including Judo, Karate, Tennis, Taekwondo, Table tennis, Chess, and Swimming.

The All-African University Games was first held in Ghana in 1974 and organized by the Federation of Africa University Sports (FASU) has continued to unite all of Africa’s finest university athletes, inspiring the next generation of Sports lovers across the continent.

The games which took place between September 20th and 29th, was the 11th edition, as well as the 20th anniversary since Nigeria last hosted the games, becoming the first country to host the tournament in two separate locations, University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Lagos State University (LASU).

With 15 medal events, over a thousand athletes from 35 countries stormed Lagos for the All-African University Games, also known as FASU Games is a premier continental multi-sports event, and the biggest sports event for student-athletes in Africa.

AUC’s Swimming Dominance

AUC’s swimming team, led by head coach Shahab Younis, a former swimmer and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, showcased exceptional talent and determination.

The team’s impressive performance at the 2024 FASU Games was a continuation of their success at the 2022 games in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenzy Sherif and Zaid Ahmed were among the standout performers for AUC’s swimming team.

The duo was among the competitors as AUC claimed gold in the 4 x 100m mixed medley relay, and this is their second time at the FASU Games.

Kenzy and Zaid disclosed their performance at the tournament, and what it means to be part of the rising generation of Africa’s best swimmers emerging from the America University in Cairo.

Kenzy participated in two separate categories of the event, 50m butterfly and two relays, picking up both gold and silver medals in the latter. Being in the AUC team, Kenzy emphasized the connection that exists in the team, which also serves as her biggest source of motivation coming into the FASU Games for a second time in two years.

“Here in the swimming team at AUC, my teammates and our coach – there is a spirit that coexists between us, and I believe that is one thing that binds us together at every time, that I will say has been my biggest motivation coming into this tournament,” Kenzy said.

The 21-year-old started her swimming career when she was 4 years old, Like many of her teammates, Kenzy has participated in quite a number of tournaments, representing her school at both national and international swimming competitions, including the 49th National University Tournament in 2021, in Egypt, where she participated in the women’s 50m butterfly.

Zaid won silver in the men’s 200m butterfly, he had also performed in the men’s 100m freestyle four days earlier, finishing off at 53:77 seconds, pipping his teammate and compatriot, Ishan Nashalt to his first gold in the tournament.

The 22-year-old student of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) at AUC. For his daily routine, Zaid wakes up as early as 4:30 am, before heading out to practice at 5 am till 7 am, after which he has breakfast.

He attends classes right from 10 am to 3:30 pm; after class, Zaid grabs himself some lunch, and by the time he is done, it is evening already, and he goes back to training again. Then repeat the next day.

Despite coming to Lagos at a difficult phase in his life and career, he knows that it is a crucial opportunity, and one he mustn’t forego given his desire to compete at a professional level.

“The competition was only in four days, and every day I had a minimum of two races, sometimes more. Like today, I had four races, three individual races and one relay, but beyond that, it was a very good competition, and a huge challenge to know where I stand in my program,” he said.

It is a landmark moment in Zaid’s career, not only because he added another medal to his cabinet, but also because participating in the tournament turned out to be the transformative experience, he needed in rediscovering his passion for swimming.

“I have been facing some challenges which made me consider quitting swimming for a while. I was not feeling so passionate or so happy swimming back home, but competing in this game returned that passion for me,” he continued.

Finding a balance between physical fitness and mental health for young athletes, especially student-athletes can be demanding.

“Mental awareness and mental preparation for young swimmers are so hard. I met Shehab at the swimming pool area at the Sports Center in the University of Lagos, on Sunday, where his athletes had made history.

“It is easier to train swimmers and make them prepare physically but to get them to be mentally ready, which is hard, we do so by setting some targets and goals to achieve. That way they become more focused and mentally alert. For instance, coming into this tournament, we had our target. There are forty-two medal categories in swimming, and our target was to get more than thirty-five gold medals, and we got thirty-nine” said Shahab.

Shehab joined AUC two years ago leading them to their first All-African University Games in Nairobi, Kenya in 2022, to win 22 gold medals in swimming for a total of 68 medals: 29 gold, 22 silvers, and 18 bronze, winning first place and contributing to Egypt’s top position in the country’s medal standing.

With the games in Lagos having come to a close, the team will be taking up a new challenge in a month.

“We have an international tournament in Rome, Italy, at the World Inter-Universities Championship. That is our next challenge, and we will be putting our focus on that.” He continued.

Since the win in Nairobi, Shehab’s team at AUC has expanded its roster with the addition of eight new swimmers, bolstering the squad depth as they prepare for the upcoming challenge in October.

Written by Mahbubat Salahudeen, Media Volunteer