From Dubai Pools To Paris Olympics: This Teenager Has Been Swimming Since She Was 4

Karin Belbeisi, a teenager, has already achieved what many athletes dream of: qualifying for the Olympics. Selected to compete in the 400m freestyle event in Paris, Karin represented Jordan on the world's biggest sporting stage - a milestone she has been envisioning since early childhood.

“My dream has finally come true,” she told Khaleej Times last year, recalling how she first heard about the Olympics when she was just five or six years old.“Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said I wanted to go to the Olympics. I want to be an Olympian.”

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Swimming has been central to Karin's life almost from the start.“I started swimming when I was around four years old,” she said.“My mum initially put me in swimming. I really loved it, and I refused to do any sports other than swimming. It was the only thing I enjoyed doing, so I continued training.” Her parents' influence runs deep - her dad played basketball, and her mother, who swam while pregnant with Karin, introduced her to the pool even before she was born.

Qualifying for Paris came as an emotional whirlwind.“It was the biggest shock of my life,” she recalled.“They contacted my mum to tell her I was going to the Olympics. She came running to my room shouting and jumping. I was in complete shock, I was so happy, I was shaking. Both my mum and dad had tears in their eyes - happy tears.”

As a KT+150 listmaker in the sports category, Karin Belbeisi exemplifies determination, passion and poise under pressure.

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