Rafed El-Masri

Rafed Ziad El-Masri (Arabic: رافد زياد المصري‎; born August 10, 1982) is a German former swimmer of Syrian origin, who specialized in sprint freestyle events.[1] He is also a four-time national champion for Germany, and a gold medalist for the men's 50 m freestyle event at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, representing his ancestral homeland Syria.

Rafed El-Masri
Personal information
Full nameRafed Ziad El-Masri
National team Germany
 Syria
Born (1982-08-10) 10 August 1982
Clausthal-Zellerfeld,
Lower Saxony, Germany
Height1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight88 kg (194 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubZehlendorfer TSV von 1888
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Syria
Asian Games
2006 Doha50 m freestyle

Swimming career

El-Masri was born and raised in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Lower Saxony, by Syrian immigrants, whom his father studied geology at the Clausthal University of Technology.[2] He moved to Berlin at the age of five, where he eventually started swimming. At the peak of his sporting career, he had won several titles at the national championships for both long and short course swimming events. He also held a dual citizenship for Germany and Syria, which made him eligible to compete in future international competitions.

Syria (2004–2007)

In 2004, El-Masri became a member of SG Neukölln swimming club in Berlin, and also, trained for the German national team. However, he decided to compete instead for the Syrian Olympic team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He qualified for the men's 50 m freestyle event, and swam in the eighth heat against four other competitors including Croatia's Duje Draganja, who eventually won the silver medal in this event. El-Masri finished in fourth place of his assigned heat, with an impressive time of 22.58 seconds. He nearly missed out of the semi-final rounds, as he placed eighteenth in the overall rankings, tying his position with two-time Olympic champion Alexander Popov of Russia, and Johan Kenkhuis of the Netherlands.

El-Masri continued to compete for Syria at two FINA World Championships (2005 in Montreal, and 2007 in Melbourne), but failed to reach his personal best times set at the Olympics. He also won a gold medal for the men's 50 m freestyle at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, with an impressive time of 22.41 seconds, just ahead of Japan's Makoto Ito, and China's Cai Li.[3]

Germany (2008–present)

Having won the gold medal at the Asian Games, El-Masri made certain doubts in his decision if he could swim for either Syria or Germany, because of his dual citizenship.[4] In 2008, he qualified for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, after finishing second in the 50 m freestyle event at German national trials, just behind Steffen Deibler, with a time of 21.80 seconds. Shortly before the games, El-Masri was given a chance by FINA to switch nationalities, after having represented his country of origin at the previous Olympics, and at the World Championships.[5]

Representing his adopted nation Germany, El-Masri competed in the men's 50 m freestyle, along with his compatriot Deibler, who finished ahead of him in the trials. He challenged seven other swimmers on the twelfth heat, including heavy favorites Amaury Leveaux of France and three-time Olympian Stefan Nystrand of Sweden. El-Masri finished behind U.S. swimmer Ben Wildman-Tobriner in fourth place by 0.21 of a second with a time of 21.96 seconds. El-Masri recorded a tenth fastest time in the preliminary heats to advance further into the semifinals.[6][7] The following morning, El-Masri fell short in his bid for the final, as he finished the semifinal run with a third slowest time of 22.09 seconds.[8]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rafed El-Masri". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  2. Haselbauer, Torsten (16 July 2008). "Rafed El-Masri Schwere Entscheidung in fremden Kategorien" [Rafed El-Masri made severe decisions in strange categories] (in German). Franffurter Allgemaine. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  3. "Syrian Almasri claims men's 50m freestyle in Asiad". English People's Daily (China). 5 December 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  4. "Almasri ponders German switch". The Star Malaysia. 6 December 2006. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  5. Lord, Craig (2 July 2008). "El-Masri set to be German in time for Beijing". Swim News. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  6. "Men's 50m Freestyle Heat 12". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  7. Lohn, John (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Olympic Standard Falls Twice in Men's 50 Free Prelims". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  8. "Men's 50m Freestyle Semifinal 1". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 2012-08-21. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
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