Sudanese Olympic backstroker Ziyad Saleem of Cal looks to leave his mark on Paris Games

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — As a boy in Milwaukee, Ziyad Saleem would stroll by way of the home pretending to swim backstroke — arm circling backward alongside the best ear and over his shoulder, then the opposite arm doing the identical on the left facet.

Some days he would additionally propel each arms ahead as if doing butterfly. His father noticed some actual potential then, even out of the water.

“I used to be all the time, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’” Mohamed Saleem recalled. “It was vary of movement or making an attempt to grasp how he pulls underneath water. I knew he was connected to it.”

The swimming bug had hit onerous, and Saleem started dreaming massive.

Little did Dad know this may really result in one thing that might imply a lot to the household: The College of California swimmer is headed to the Paris Olympics to compete for Sudan, his mother and father’ house nation and a spot most of his family have now fled due to warfare and an enormous humanitarian disaster.

“It’s onerous to explain the sensation,” Mohamed Saleem mentioned of his son representing Sudan.

Not many take into consideration swimming and Sudan in the identical breath — however it’s athletes akin to Saleem who’re serving to put the game on the map for the nation in northern Africa that has an extended shoreline on the Pink Sea.

When Saleem gained a medal 5 years in the past in Tunisia for one in every of his nation’s massive successes in a global meet, he acquired royal remedy afterward.

So think about the triumph in Might when Saleem captured Sudan’s first swimming gold medal at an African Championships with victory within the 200-meter backstroke. Saleem treasured his second atop the rostrum because the nationwide anthem performed — then he received to do it once more after successful the 100 again.

“It’s tremendous cool being one of many first ones to medal and actually be on the prime of the game in Sudan,” Saleem mentioned. “For me, it’s extra about educating the stuff I’ve realized within the U.S. and all of the coaching and high-level swimming I’m in a position to do right here and sort of take it again to Sudan. I strive serving to out coaches at these world championships, giving them among the suggestions I realized right here within the U.S., and I believe that’s simply the most important factor, extending what I’ve realized within the U.S. over to Sudan and hopefully these children can study and turn out to be higher swimmers.”

A world away from Sudan’s turmoil, Saleem relishes his new life within the numerous Bay Space swimming subsequent to adorned U.S. Olympian Ryan Murphy within the Cal pool day after day, hour after hour, set after set.

Occasionally, Saleem can shock Murphy and beat him throughout their backstroke warmups. And that’s all the time enjoyable to present the gold medalist a run for his cash, even when it’s simply in observe and never underneath competitors stress.

“Typically, when he’s going straightforward in warmups, he’ll watch for the brand new set and actually destroy me,” Saleem mentioned with a smile.

It’s onerous for Saleem to imagine he’s within the water alongside a former world-record holder like Murphy. This isn’t the way it was speculated to go for Saleem. He dedicated to Iowa solely to have the Hawkeyes program get minimize due to COVID-19, all of the sudden leaving his faculty profession path unsure.

“So I used to be left with out something, nowhere to go,” he recalled.

However when Saleem began dropping a few seconds in every of his occasions early on as a highschool senior, Cal took discover. He dedicated with out a go to and even speaking to anyone on the crew.

This system’s fame and training instructed him all he wanted to know. To not point out the prospect to share a pool with Murphy and so many different worldwide greats.

“I knew it will be a spot I’d actually get pleasure from simply having the world-class athletes right here, an individual like Murph,” Saleem mentioned. “I study from him a lot out and in of the water, what to do, his pointers. He’s an important particular person to have enable you to. Once I first received right here it was actually surreal simply seeing him within the water. However now since I’ve grown a relationship with him it’s not light however I nonetheless admire him so much. He’s a giant cause why I selected to return to Cal simply to have a world-record holder to coach with each day.”

Murphy loves swimming with Saleem, too.

“Ziyad is superior, one of many nicest guys I’ve educated with at Cal,” Murphy mentioned. “He’s a contented particular person and onerous employee.”

Saleem was born in Milwaukee however holds twin citizenship, permitting him to compete for his mother and father’ homeland within the Olympics. Mohamed Saleem cherishes each probability to see his son compete for Sudan.

“We’ve an honest neighborhood right here in Milwaukee. They’re very pleased with him, so multiply that by 50,000 occasions being the daddy,” Mohamed Saleem mentioned. “While you say you don’t consider Sudan relating to swimming, they didn’t consider it both, that’s why it was a giant shock when he really went the primary time and gained medals for the nation. … It introduced quite a lot of consideration to swimming and the potential.”

Saleem can be a first-time Olympian, having gained expertise on the massive stage at a number of world championships.

He has secured Olympic berths within the 100 and 200 again — his greatest occasion — by way of every nation’s one free entry, exempting him from qualifying minimums.

“I’m simply making an attempt to get quicker and (attain) semifinals, that’s the purpose,” he mentioned within the lead as much as the Paris Video games.

Saleem has been to Sudan a number of occasions and met a few of his Sudanese teammates simply by way of attending meets with them. They keep up a correspondence regardless of coaching in varied elements of the world, but it surely’s the People at Cal he is aware of greatest.

Most of his household is gone from Sudan.

“With the warfare, they’ve all emigrated towards Egypt. They had been all in Sudan in like (final) June and now all of them went to Egypt with what’s occurring there (in Sudan),” he mentioned. “There’s some within the Center East. There’s possibly one or two nonetheless in Sudan however everyone else left.”

His father immigrated to america within the Nineties and his mom within the early 2000s.

They’ll’t wait to see him compete in Paris alongside Murphy and all the different stars.

Would possibly Saleem have taught Murphy a factor or two throughout all their coaching battles and hours collectively within the pool?

“I don’t know if a lot,” Saleem mentioned, “however I attempt to push my (backstroke) as a lot as I can and attempt to be a great particular person out and in of the water with him.”

___

AP Olympics: