Ali Khalafalla Erases Tie with 22-Year-Old Egyptian Record in 50 Free

2017 Arena Pro Swim Series – Santa Clara

• Thursday, June 1st-Sunday, June 4th
• 50-Meter Course
• Prelims 9 am/Finals 5 pm (PST)
• Santa Clara, California
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream
• Live Results

Olympic sprinter Ali Khalafalla rewrote Egypt’s record book with his performance in the 50 free final at the 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series stop in Santa Clara. Khalafalla, who competes for Indiana collegiately, had previously tied the National Record twice.

The first time the mark was set at 22.25 was in 1995, as Tamer Ali Zinhom set the record at Egyptian Nationals. He was the lon record holder for over 20 years, until Khalafalla tied it with a 22.25 at the 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series stop in Orlando. Months later, Khalafalla tied the record once again, registering a 22.25 at the Rio Olympics.

On Saturday night in Santa Clara, Khalafalla finally broke through that barrier, posting a 22.12 to take silver and erase Zinhom’s 22-year-old performance from the Egyptian record books. He was 2nd only to Russia’s Vlad Morozov (21.97) and finished ahead of Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian (22.27).

Khalafalla is now the sole owner of both sprint records. He set the Egyptian National Record in the 100 free last summer with his 49.46 in Rio. He now sits just outside the top 20 in the world rankings, as his time lands him at #21.