Aya Abbas: From Adversity to Achievement

“Doctors told my mom I was going to die. They told her not to invest too much in me as I am dying anyway,” recounted Aya Abbas.

Fast forward 24 years later, Abbas is now a world-class paralympic swimmer who became the first Arab and Egyptian woman to win two world championship medals in swimming. She participated in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic and qualified for Paris 2024. She won numerous international medals and broke several African records.

But before that, the doctors thought they had sealed Abbas’s fate; except her family refused to despair. 

A medical error by the doctor delivering Abbas led to her developing “hemiplegia,” which is a condition that paralyzes one side of the body and causes an inability to walk. Despite this, Abbas’s family, particularly her mother, have provided immense motivation and support her entire life, fostering her courage and enabling her to become the swimmer she is today.

“I am so grateful to have a supportive mother like mine. I don’t know what I would have done without her constantly pushing me to live up to my potential. She put her life and dreams aside to help me achieve mine, and I will be forever grateful for that,” Abbas said.

Abbas never let the fact that she was confined to a wheelchair be a hurdle in her path to her goals. 

“I grew up this way and had no inferiority complex because my parents gave me all the love and treated me as a normal child,” said Abbas.

Abbas did not realize how different she was from other girls until she started attending school. Some girls at school looked at her as if she was fragile and needed to be treated with care. 

“I was suffering in my studies because my classroom was located on the fourth floor, and there were no elevators or a paved path in the building,” said Abbas.

She refused to accept being treated differently. She wanted to show everyone that she was just like them and could accomplish things that others did not think were possible for her. 

“Swimming has increased my self-confidence, and I have stopped caring about what other people think of me,” said Abbas.

The Egyptian trailblazer’s journey began at the age of 6 while participating in hydrotherapy sessions, a form of physiotherapy that involves water use for pain relief and treatment, at Al-Shams Club. Abbas discovered her talent for swimming and became the inaugural member of the newly formed Special Needs swimming team at Al-Shams Club in 2006.

Abbas’s life began to improve at the age of 8 when she started competing in national championships, where she won first place and got the first medal in her life. 

“I was as delighted as a youngster could be at that moment. My grandfather was there when I won my first race, and I received a medal the same as my brother did,” said Abbas.

Since Abbas began swimming and received her first medal in 2008, swimming has had an impact on her life.

“I believe that swimming influences my personality, my life, and my dream as a disabled person,” said Abbas. 

Following the beginning of her participation in national championships, she then went on to win the Best Egyptian Swimmer Cup and held the title for five consecutive years from 2009 to 2013. Abbas then became the first girl to win a gold medal in Egyptian Paralympic women’s swimming history when she joined the squad at age 14. 

Throughout her journey, Abbas has received honors from numerous organizations and entities. In 2014, she became the first and youngest swimmer to qualify for the World Championships in Glasgow. In 2015, she won a gold medal and two silver medals at the Spanish International Championships.

She broke an African record at the Poland International Championship by winning two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze medal that same year.

At the age of 16, Abbas became the first, youngest, and only swimmer from Egypt, Africa, and Arabia to earn a spot in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Paralympic Games, where she placed 10th and 11th.

“I was very happy but feared because I was the only girl in Egypt, Africa, and the Arab world to participate in Paralympic swimming. It was a big responsibility, but I was very happy. I felt this was the goal I had been working on throughout the years,” Abbas said.

She qualified for the World Championship in Mexico in 2017 by winning two bronze medals, placing fourth and fifth at the Berlin International Championship, and earning a silver medal. She shattered yet another African record at the World Championship in Mexico, placed fourth, and won silver and bronze medals.

She also qualified for the World Championship in England in three competitions in 2018 by winning a gold and two silver medals at the American International Championship in Indiana.

The following year she qualified again for the World Championship in England in three tournaments by placing fourth in two and winning silver and bronze medals in the British International Championship in Glasgow. She smashed four African records, placed seventh at the England World Championship, and earned a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

“I was very happy, but I had a feeling of fear. I was happy that Egypt was among the participants in the competition, so it made me proud,” Abbas said.

As Abbas’ swimming has evolved, she has continued to compete in numerous events. Her most recent victory came at the international Paralympic swimming tournament when she took home five gold medals across all classifications.

Currently, Abbas is preparing for the World Paralympic Swimming Championships in Singapore later this year.

Being a paralympic swimmer, one needs a lot of mental and psychological support. Omar Khalaf, a swimming coach at Al-Shams Club, discovered that one of the aspects Abbas needed to work on to become a better paralympic swimmer was her mental health, which he helped guide her in alongside her mother. 

Khalaf worked with Abbas to strengthen the mental side of her game. In his opinion, in order to get the greatest performance out of a trainee, the trainer needs to establish trust with them. 

“She needs someone to listen to her and show her that he cares about her because she is an extremely intelligent swimmer who is also highly emotional. By doing this, a close friendship developed between us, which made it simpler for me to help her accomplish her goals,” said Khalaf.

Khalaf tailors the best training style for Abbas that best fits her circumstances.

“She is truly a champion and a superb swimmer,” said Khalaf.

Her life is not limited to sports only. A Spring 2023 graduate, Abbas joined AUC on an athletic scholarship, majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) and double minoring in Business Administration and Theater. 

Abbas also loves acting and is passionate about the arts. She dreams of bringing light to the lives of people with disabilities through acting, production, and filmmaking. 

“I aspire to reach every home in Egypt with my personal story of being in a wheelchair,” said Abbas.

Abbas also always loves lending a helping hand to her friends.

 “I know her from the IELTS course. She is amazing and has a good spirit. I’m always rooting for her,” said Yazeed Ezzeldin, a senior majoring in Construction Engineering.

Haydee Ismail, an IMC alumna and Abbas’s best friend, explained that, in her view, Abbas serves as a beacon of inspiration with her continuous drive to impact and promote understanding positively.

“I firmly believe that Abbas embodies an exceptional combination of positivity, strength, and unwavering motivation. I have always admired her remarkable self-confidence and unyielding persistence in challenging societal perceptions of individuals with disabilities,” said Ismail.