From Egypt to Edmond: Ali Khalafalla’s Olympic Journey

Ali Khalafalla’s journey from Egypt to Edmond is marked by skill, determination, and super-fast swimming. Currently training for the 2024 Olympic Games, the Egyptian Olympian stopped to share about his past accomplishments, present outlook, and future goals.

Coming from Cairo
“I started swimming at six years old,” Ali said. “My mom took my sister and me to practice and I think she definitely had some hopes that we would become competitive. It was her dream that I would someday make it to the Olympic Games.”

Ali continued to swim competitively in Egypt until he was 15, when he came to America. “My family wanted me to be able to pursue different academic and swimming opportunities,” he said. “In our minds, America represented an opportunity to get better and take whatever I was already learning to the next level.”

Ali attended Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, a change he says was challenging at the start. “It was a big adjustment, leaving my family and coming here by myself at just fifteen,” he said. “My English wasn’t very good at the time, and I didn’t like being ordered around, so at first, I just wanted to go back home.”

Ali remained committed, applying his father’s wise advice. “Dad told me to continue to sacrifice and push through those uncomfortable moments. He said they’d serve me the rest of my life.” His father was right. Ali’s swimming career truly took off while at the academy. He says that is where his passion locked into place.

Swimming in the States
“There was one competition my senior year of high school where I was competing against very fast swimmers,” Ali said. “It was the first time I finished the 50 Freestyle in under 23 seconds, and my eyes kind of opened to the potential I had to one day represent Egypt in the Olympics.”

From there, Ali swam for the competitive D1 team at Indiana University. When he arrived, the school was thirteenth in the nation, but it was third when he left. It was there that Ali qualified for the Rio Olympics, representing Egypt in the 50 Freestyle event.

“The 50 is a fast race. To bring it into perspective, it’s like the 100-yard dash of track and field,” Ali explained. “It’s the rock-and-roll of swimming. Winners are determined by a 100th of a second.”

On to the Olympics
To qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Ali swam the 50 Freestyle in 22.25 seconds, two one-hundredths of a second faster than the standard. “At the qualifying event, there’s a record board so you know as soon as you touch it if you qualified or not,” Ali said. “As soon as I got out of the water, I Facetimed my parents and told them to buy their tickets – we were going to the Olympics!”

Ali was one of 130 Egyptian athletes to compete at the 2016 games. “It was surreal. You’re sitting in a dining hall right next to an olympian with thirty medals,” he said. “You see athletes from all sports – Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and all the others you see on TV.”
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were a slightly different, but equally exhilarating experience.

Though the stands weren’t full of fans, Ali pushed himself to place 23rd out of 115 swimmers, making him the highest-ranking swimmer in Egypt’s Olympic history.

Facing the Future
In 2021, Ali relocated to Edmond to train with a close friend and coach who lives conveniently close to the Olympic-sized pool at Edmond Schools Aquatic Center at Mitch Park. Now, his sights are set on Paris.

He is currently training full-time for the 2024 summer games and plans to qualify this summer. In the meantime, he teaches swim clinics and works as a realtor. “It’s important for me to have other focuses besides swimming,” Ali said. “Realty has been great because it enables me to connect to so many people with diverse backgrounds. Oklahomans are Egyptians at heart, with their hospitality and attitude toward life. I love being here.”

Optimistic about his future, Ali offered a piece of advice that applies as much to athletics as it does life. “There is no formula per se,” he said. “The notion that you can do things as a science is a myth. But there are three things I think about when working toward a goal: hard work, patience, and discipline. I always come back to those three things in the face of uncertainty.”

To follow Ali’s journey to the 2024 Olympic Games and beyond, follow him on Instagram at @alikhalafalla.ak.