Video: Dubai-based Pakistani swimmer shares story of his Paris Olympic dream
18-year-old Ahmed Durrani swims at least 14-km a day and trains for almost 4 hours
Dubai: Ahmed Durrani has been training relentlessly for the last three years, swimming more than 14km a day.
His dedication and hard work paid off as he has been selected to represent Pakistan at the Paris Olympics.
The Dubai-based Pakistani swimmer who was first made to jump into the pool at the age of three to cope with his hyperactivity, turned out to be a natural swimmer. He continued to excel over the years becoming the national swimming champion of Pakistan before even turning 12.
His father Aasif Durrani and mother Ambreen Durrani are the driving forces behind his success. His mother plays a bigger role by motivating him and always standing by him to cope with the tough training routine. She turned him into a disciplined swimmer, helping him train regularly and taking him around the world to compete.
Though financially stretched in the absence of sponsors, father Aasif Durrani kept his promise to support his son’s dream to become an Olympian.
Multiple awards
Ahmed’s talent became evident early on when he won the Best Swimmer of the Year award at his school swimming gala, when he was in Grade 3, impressing everyone with his speed and technique.
“Year after year, he continued to dominate, winning multiple awards and setting records at the Pakistan Junior Nationals competition at the age of 12,” said Ambreen.
Breakthrough
His breakthrough came when Ahmed participated in the 8th FINA World Junior championship in Lima, Peru, in 2022 where his performance was nothing short of phenomenal.
This success propelled him to the 19th Asian Games, Hangzhou, China in 2023 where he represented Pakistan and achieved personal bests in his races. Subsequently, he competed in 59th MILO/MAS Age Group competition in Malaysia and the 19th Singapore Championships in 2024 achieving the fastest FINA points and securing his spot for the Paris Olympics Games, 2024.
Ahmed has been training to set new personal bests and to bring glory to Pakistan on the international stage. He will compete in the 200m freestyle cateegory in Paris Olympics Games.
In-house challenge
Ahmed’s sister Aizah Durrani who is also an elite swimmer kept him on toes with in house swimming challenges. “Though he let me win sometime, I believe my brother has the potential to win on big platforms,” Aizah quipped. “It’s going to be my turn in the next Olympics as my brother gave me inspiration to train hard,” she added.
Tough training routine
Ahmed, a student at the English Speaking School, follows a tough training routine. He wakes up at 4.30am and trains from 5am to 6.45am. He leaves for school at 7.45am. He reaches home from school at 3pm, has lunch and then again leaves for a second training session at 4.30pm. He trains from 5pm to 7.45pm. He reaches home at 8.15pm, has his dinner and finishes his homework before going to bed at 10.30pm.
Ahmed trains six days a week in the evening and four times a week in the morning. Ahmed’s favourite food is Qeema (mince meat), pasta, fish and eggs. He loves to have lot of oranges and orange juice.