Studies and swimming: Dubai student excels in both, sets eyes on Olympics

Nadine Karim secured a medal at the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 2023 held in her home country, Egypt. However, she had no time to celebrate because, after the competition, she had to dash back to Dubai to attend her GCSE exams.

Nadine’s father Karim Abdalla told Khaleej Times: “After the competition, we landed back in Dubai at 7am and she had her Physics exam at 11am. “We rushed out of the airport, got home, she changed into her uniform, and we took her straight to the examination hall.”

Nadine went on to score a straight A in Physics. The student of GEMS Wellington Academy managed to get above a Grade 6 in all her GCSEs despite travelling to five international competitions over the year, missing at least two weeks of classes each time. She has been juggling both swimming and studies for several years now.

Karim credited the school for helping her with studies. “No matter how many classes she missed, the school always made sure that she was up to date with her studies,” he said. “Once she was back from a competition, they would find a schedule that worked for her, and her teachers would teach the lessons she missed.”

Finding time for studying and sleeping

Nadine’s day starts when she reports at the swimming pool at 4.30am for training. She spends time there till 7am after which she heads to school. Once she finishes school at 3pm, she heads straight back to the pool to train till 6pm.

“Once I reach home, I study at least for an hour,” said Nadine. “It is the consistent studying every day that helped me get good grades even though I was away for so long.”

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According to Karim, the most challenging thing is to find time to sleep. “There is so much to do that she sometimes skimps on her sleep. As an athlete, that is not the best thing to do because sleep and recovery are as important as training. However, I am very proud of how hard she worked and how well she excelled at both swimming and studying.”

Family is everything

It was Karim who first introduced Nadine to swimming. “We used to live in Saudi and during that time, I would train her myself,” he said. “It was only when we moved here that she started training with Hamilton Aquatics.”

The second of three sisters, Nadine has always been passionate about swimming. Her elder sister, currently a university student, is also a swimmer. To motivate his children further, Karim has also joined the squad at the aquatics academy. “I just want them to look at me and think that if I can do it, they can do it too,” he said.

Nadine now has one goal — the Olympics. “She has been training hard,” said Karim. “We are hopeful that she will qualify for the summer Olympics that will be held in Paris in 2024.”