Wednesday August 6, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — Fifteen-year-old swimmer Mustafa Hashim made history this week by becoming the first athlete to represent Somalia at the World Aquatics Championships, signalling a major step forward for a nation with limited sports infrastructure but rising ambition.
Hashim competed in three events at the 2025 championships in Singapore. He placed 72nd in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:16.69, finished 104th in the 100-meter freestyle at 1:05.01, and clocked 31.73 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle.
Born in London to a Somali mother and a Yemeni-British father, Hashim began swimming at age 9. He currently trains at the London 2012 Olympic Pool with Romford Town Swimming Club under coach Alastair Kershaw. Earlier this year, he competed at the AP Race London International, posting a personal best of 1:14.79 in the 100 breaststroke.
Hashim personally reached out to the Somali Swimming Federation to request approval to compete. Permission was granted just two months before the competition, allowing him to fulfill his dream of representing his mother’s homeland.
“I hope that for now, they can focus on the youth getting into swimming,” Hashim said.
His participation also makes Somalia eligible for international development grants to build aquatic facilities—a meaningful step for a country that lacks a single Olympic-sized pool.
Still, Hashim remains optimistic.
“I believe my story can inspire others from underrepresented nations and show that athletes from any background with the right mindset can break through at the highest level,” he said.
According to the United Nations, more than 7.7 million Somalis required humanitarian assistance in 2022, and the country ranks near the bottom globally in maternal health, gender equality, and childhood development. These structural challenges have long prevented the emergence of competitive swimmers, despite Somalia’s geographical advantage as the nation with the longest coastline on mainland Africa.
Despite these challenges, Somali athletes have slowly made their mark on the global stage. Ramla Ali became the first Somali woman to compete in boxing at the Olympics, and Munirah Warsame broke ground in taekwondo at the 2018 World Junior Championships. Hashim now adds swimming to that growing legacy.
Hashim hopes to build on his debut and is already targeting future milestones, including the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Beijing, the 2027 World Championships in Budapest, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Hopefully, by LA 2028, I can go up against the much older athletes with a fight. I’ll have grown a lot more physically, but from this meet I have gained a lot of experience and know what I want in the future as an athlete, hopefully making it to semis in Budapest 2027 in 100 breast and also being able to prove myself as a young athlete in Beijing 2026… It never hurts to dream big!” he said.