HomeThis Crocodile won't retire
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His triumphant return drove the crowds into a frenzy and traffic jams blocked the streets. King Farouk gave him a private audience with two other great "crocodiles" Hasan Abdelrahim and Marei Hammad. In a scene straight out of an Arabian fairy tale, the King asked each of the men for a wish. Abouheif's two friends asked for a small flat for their old age. True to his romantic and fiery image, Abouheif asked to be enrolled in the prestigious British military school of Sand Hurst where he spent three years from 1952 - 1955. Apart from acquiring military skills he also learnt English and picked up a certain British phlegm which he never lost. Meanwhile, Farouk was deposed and Egypt became a republic, but the Egyptian trainers in long distance swimming never forgot the young champion. On his return in 1955, they entered him in the Calais-Dover Channel Swimming Championship which was sponsored by Butlins Camps - a chain of hotels and leisure centers. Abouheif won the race and gave the prize to the seven children of a British swimmer who drowned attempting a solo crossing of the Channel. People said the man had been stupid to take such a big risk, but Abouheif admired this obscure hero. "He represented a precursor. He had a compass on his wrist and his legs pulled a dinghy with provisions. He was unlucky," recalled Abouheif. The British newspapers covered the story and Abouheif gained immediate popularity in England. That was just the first in a series of generous gestures which the champion does not speak about, but which his friends often remember. He left the prize he won in the Nantes St. Nazaire race to a French swimmer, Georges Valery, who had just become paralyzed. Another time, he left the prize money from an International race to the family of an Egyptian swimmer who accidentally drowned. In Lebanon at the time of the Saida - Beirut race, he came to the rescue of the impoverished Federation of Swimmers by settling everyone's hotel bill. That time his wife was about to throw a tantrum as they were up their ears in debt, but she realized this was his nature and nothing would change him. |
From 1956 onwards, Abouheif's triumphs were both impressive and recurrent. He won the Michigan Race (60 Kms) which entailed 36 hours swimming where the prize money was US $15,000, a fortune at that time. "That race on Lake Michigan was undoubtedly one of the toughest of my career. The organizers of American race generally overdo it!" said Abouheif. The list goes on. Abouheif was five times winner of the St. John Lake race in North West Quebec, in icy water. He then won the "Montreal," a relay race which he won alone for about 28 hours because his partner fell ill. He won the Capri - Naples four or five times and the Rio de la Plata in which he took part at his own cost because of some obscure intrigue in the Federation. This race was the longest of his career (250 Kms) from Rosario to Buenos Aires - 60 hours of swimming). He became the sweetheart of the Argentineans who changed his nickname of Crocodile (coccodrillo) to "Cocco" (the darling). But the series of triumphs did not end there. His prize - winning feats stretch from Australia to the Loire River in France, and back to the Nile. He says himself that it would be too tedious to list all the races he won or countries he visited. In 1945 he was champion long - distance swimmer for Egypt and second in the world. The American International Union of long - distance swimming declared him the greatest swimmer of all time, his victories span 25 years. This lively and popular man lives with his wife (herself a former champion horse racer) and his 38 years old son (Egyptian Auto Cross Champion) in a flat bursting with trophies, photographs, musical instruments and Hi Fi equipment. Despite his generosity - which borders on the extravagant - a few choice pieces of furniture reflect his more than comfortable life - style. Besides the income from his victories, he receives a pension as a retired officer. Abouheif served in the border control forces, and on leaving the service held the rank of brigadier. He made his mark by hunting down drug traffickers who brought in their consignments from the East. His surveillance and prevention duties were sometimes undertaken by Jeep or even by camel, but wherever he was he tried to keep up his training regimen of seven hours of swimming per day. |
" It is not easy to be a champion - there are no tricks and no particular gifts for becoming no.1" he says. "It is just a matter of training and then more training , to the limits of human endurance. In fact it is a matter of will power." Nowadays, long - distance swimming does not attract so many followers and the new generation seems to prefer other disciplines. After the glorious reign of the "Crocodiles," long - distance racers have lost their appeal. Swimming champions often compete in them just for the prize money. "We have just won the Zurich Lake race. Our current champions are Hatem Saif, Tamer Ibraheem, Mohammed Maarouf," said Abouheif. He would like to organize competitions on the Nile or the Suez Canal along the same lines as the Quebec race which he says, is perhaps the best organized race in the world. "The prize money is $20,000 and there is a real street festival with music and food. Everyone is glad to have come. But in Egypt, publicity for our competitions is lacking. It is not a spectacular sport like car racing, but if it were organized with the right side attractions it could be an opportunity for developing tourism for sports", explained Abouheif. The champion keeps in shape partly by doing aquatic gymnastics which he calls "aquatic aerobics". "For old people, swimming and gymnastics in water are even better than walking for maintaining good health. It is important to make the blood move", he notes. Captain Abouheif has always followed a strict diet of protein, salads and vegetables and little starch. He never takes alcohol, cigarettes, coffee or tea. What he often needed was a large dose of courage: he recalls how swimmers died by losing consciousness from the cold, or disappeared while training along the coasts. For some races he swam inside special cages to protect him from sharks, which killed one of his friends in the Indian Ocean. "Physical courage is often matched with spiritual courage. We must not forget the handicapped who have crossed the Channel despite having no legs or just one arm", says Abouheif. "Long - Distance swimming like any other sport, is a strict and difficult discipline, but that does not discourage our youngsters. Egyptians have swimming in the blood. In our club there are many young champions who take their training very seriously. Some time ago, 70 of our swimmers entered a race in the Suez Canal. It is a good start, quality will come from quantity". |
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