Malak Abdel Shafi
Today I’d love to introduce you to the exceptional Malak AbdelShafi; a great source of inspiration to many including myself.
Malak is a 17-year-old Egyptian Paralympic swimming champion who qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She’s an African Record Holder in 100m breastroke (London 2019) & winner of the Silver Medal at the Youth World Championship (Athlone 2018).
In 2014, Malak joined Egypt’s national team & has since won 39 national and 6 international medals.
In the words of Malak Abdelshafi:
“I wish that girls could realize that they can do anything … Nothing can stop us because we’re girls”
Malak had several setbacks during her life; but she believed that when the pathway & direction to your goal is blocked, one should never give up but rather find another way to reach that goal & aspiration.
“One of my favorite quotes is:
“There’s always another way,” she said.
In 2018, Malak was injured & diagnosed with keinbocks disease that led to removing bones from her left wrist which limited her mobility.
She had to undergo surgery that impeded her from competing in a championship in 2019. Nevertheless, Malak did not give up & applied for an exception, until she got accepted and became qualified.
In 2019, at the World Championships, she broke the African Record, won 10th place, and got qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo 2021.
Through out her journey, her family was her biggest supporters. Her mother usually covered the extra cost of fitness training, nutritionists and life coaching sessions, along with the travel expenses when she joined her at championships.
Malak believes that sports can influence our behavior greatly and hopes that one day she can have a positive impact and become an inspirational model to others. Malak’s dream has always been to participate in the Olympics and we can’t wait to see her successfully competing in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and reaching one of her dreams.
We wish her all the best and are so proud of her achievement’s and stern persistence in reaching her goals & aspirations.
On Instagram: https://instagram.com/malakabdelshafi?igshid=p00mx0u2f3k9
On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/malakHabdelshafi/?ti=as