ABDUL Rahman Al-Hamdan, aged 10 — golden medalist of the 25 meters and 50 meters breaststroke swimming contests at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Shanghai in October — has defeated all odds, including his disabilities, in becoming a world champion swimmer.
What makes Abdul Rahman’s case astonishing is the fact that the 10-year-old was born with spina bifida — a spinal defect that causes mental and physical disabilities. Abdul Rahman’s condition led doctors to install a tube in his brain to get rid of extra liquids. He also experienced difficulties urinating and at the age of three developed asthma.
When Abdul Rahman turned five, his family wanted him to join school. Most schools were apprehensive about the idea of enrolling a disabled child. Officials suggested Abdul Rahman stay at home one more year. It was then that his parents realized Abdul Rahman had a mental disability and so decided to dedicate more of their time to helping him develop.
“He always responded well. It’s just that he needs time. Once he absorbs information then there’s no way it could slip his mind,” said Abdur Rahman’s father Hassan, 38, an IT specialist.
Hassan and his wife took Abdul Rahman to the Children’s Disabled Organization. “They assured us he is a genius and that he just needed time to absorb information and continue learning. Now he is in his third grade and knows how to use computers,” said Hassan.
As Abdul Rahman grew a bit older he saw his younger brothers, Yousuf, 8, and Essam, 3, riding bicycles and wanted to try. “I could not say no. I had to create a special bike for him with a small motor… his smile was worth all the efforts,” he said.
“Then his brother started swimming… I was terrified. I thought, what should I say if he asks to join him? When he did ask, I promised to take him a week later giving me time to figure out a suitable way for him to go swimming,” said Hassan.
After one week, Abdul Rahman went to swim with his father and brother. Because people were not used to seeing special needs people mingling with able-bodied people, all eyes focused on Abdul Rahman.
“Some times, even at shopping centers people think I’m walking with him to beg… these staring eyes harass us everywhere and I’ve learned to hold my temper and taught him to ignore people and enjoy himself,” said Hassan.
“After trying to convince the club manager to allow Abdul Rahman to swim on a few occasions, he agreed and Abdul Rahman returned home totally different. He was filled with enthusiasm and couldn’t stop talking to his mother and telling her how much fun he had,” said Hassan.
At the beginning, Hassan did not think swimming would help Abdul Rahman. Hassan learned how to teach Abdul Rahman how to overcome his disabilities and swim. He searched online and spoke to swimming coaches. He even tied his own feet in the pool and tried different techniques of swimming until he had perfected a system, which he could teach Abdul Rahman.
By the age of six, Abdul Rahman was able to swim one meter, at the age of seven he completed 10 meters, at the age of eight 20 and now, aged ten, he is able to swim 600 meters.
In the meantime, Hassan became a certified special needs swimming coach. “It’s not just about finishing first, it’s about endurance and Abdul Rahman has that quality,” he said, adding that he is pleased that his son was interested in sports and that he managed to help nurture his passion. “Sports will not just keep them fit, but it will also keep them focused,” said Hassan.
Abdul Rahman first participated in a tournament in 2005 at Al-Ahsa where he finished first in a ten-meter breaststroke contest for special needs children. “I couldn’t believe it. He was finally in an official championship. While he was swimming, his eyes met mine and, as he got closer to the end, my eyes swelled with tears. When he came to me he told me not to cry because he had become a champion and that he’s not going to drown. He asked me not to worry and to be happy. I told him I was very happy and proud of him,” said Hassan.
Abdul Rahman then participated in the Zaid Al-Khair Championship in Dubai where he came second in a 25-meter breaststroke contest. Prior to the race Abdul Rahman suffered an asthma attack and spent four days in hospital. However, he was insistent on participating, said Hassan. “He asked me why he didn’t come first. I had to explain that sometimes the competition gets tougher and that he did very well and with more training he could continue to stay on top,” he said.
Athletes from the Middle East and North Africa participated in that event. Abdul Rahman did well despite the fact that he was the only athlete with two disabilities — a mental one and a physical one. “I knew then that he had the potential to move forward, but needs a specialist to follow up with him and guide him the right way,” said Hassan, who then met Coach Abdul Rahman Al-Nasser from the Saudi Arabian Swimming Federation.
He learned that a new swimming course was being offered and enrolled Abdul Rahman. Along with Al-Nasser, Hassan learned new ways of improving Abdul Rahman’s swimming abilities.
Now, having participated in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Abdul Rahman has become an international swimmer, beating athletes from more than 164 countries and breaking his own record in the 25-meter breaststroke of 1.08 seconds to 1.04 seconds.
“No one believed he could do it just by looking at him, but there is always more than the eyes can see. The whole stadium was cheering ‘KSA,’ ‘Abdul,’ and ‘Saudi Arabia,’ regardless of their nationalities,” said Hassan.
Four bodyguards could not prevent Abdul Rahman from signing autographs and taking pictures with his fans, who came to congratulate him.
Hassan now teaches the disabled how to swim and holds workshops for parents teaching them how to deal with their children and try to bring the best in them. He now wishes to have a professional center and teach more of special needs children how to swim.
“But, I’m not looking for a benefactor as much as a humanizer because this is what these children need — they need people with passion and patience… It saddens me how children nowadays watch cartoons of imaginary heroes with powers that cannot be maintained. If they saw stories about children such as Abdul Rahman then this would encourage them to look up to them with no doubts,” he added.
“I am the champion Abdul Rahman and I’ll be world champion, God help me,” said Abdul Rahman, speaking over the phone from Riyadh.
Abdul Rahman was lucky to have people caring for him, including the likes of Nasser Al-Saleh, secretary-general of the Saudi Sport Federation for Special Needs, and Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of the Saudi Youth Welfare, and his deputy Prince Nawwaf ibn Faisal.
He now wants to continue winning and keeping his title. He also wants to teach other children how to swim. Hassan believes Abdul Rahman can do that by the age of 15. He is a national symbol that makes Saudi Arabia proud, said Hassan.