CAIRO: Teenage swimmer Zain Hesham Hamdy opened Egypt’s medal account at the Youth Olympics in Dakar on Sunday by clinching gold in the 100-meter butterfly.

Hamdy led for the entire race, turning in 24.18 seconds and clocking 52.16 to top the podium, 1.87 seconds clear of Serbia’s Aleksej Kalanj with 54.03. Slovakia’s Matias Kristof took bronze in 54.71.

“It was a pretty hard race. I worked so hard to get into that position, and I’m just so grateful and blessed for what I’ve just done,” said the 17-year-old Egyptian, as quoted by World Aquatics. 

“Four years ago, I wasn’t even close to being here. I was far behind. I just worked hard and believed in myself. That’s the key.

“From start to finish, it was (a) tough (road). It wasn’t easy. I worked hard every single day, waking up at 4 a.m.” 

Hamdy’s achievement comes in the footsteps of other Egyptian swimmers who have shone on the junior stage. 

Farida Osman famously became world junior champion in the 50-meter butterfly in 2011, before she won three bronze medals at the World Aquatics Championships, in the same discipline, as a senior. 

Ahmed Akram took gold in the 800 meters at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, in 2014, while Abdelrahman Sameh El-Araby won bronze at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018. 

Hamdy, who is also entered in the 50-meter and 200-meter butterfly events in Dakar, admits he still has to wrap his head around what he was able to achieve on the opening day of the swimming competition, which will continue until Nov. 6.

“It was unbelievable. I wasn’t prepared for such a moment. I was just happy. I forgot everything that had happened before that moment,” said Hamdy. 

Both Osman and El-Araby gave nods to Hamdy’s success. El-Araby shared a post about his gold medal and Osman wrote: “Congratulations, mashaAllah. Great swim.”