DAMASCUS — To help boost his country’s image and try to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, Syrian swimming legend Feras Mualla did a whale of a feat — cross the Mediterranean Sea from Cyprus to Latakia, Syria in 42 hours.
The distance covered 124 kilometers and bridged the two continents of Europe and Asia.
Mualla said he risked his life not only in chase of a spot in the Guinness but on a mission to drive home the message that “Syria is a country of peace.”
The Arab swimming champion was speaking to journalists in the sidelines of the fourth Arab Women Sports Journalists Meeting held here recently.
A household name in Syria, Mualla won further adulation as a result of the historic swim in open water in September 2007, when he had long retired from competition.
While he apparently succeeded on his personal mission the Guinness recognition had to wait after a Slovenian man had claimed to do a similar feat at a longer distance of 400 kilometers. The difference is that though Mualla negotiated a shorter distance he swam practically non-stop taking a breather of only 20 minutes whenever he feels tired, while the Slovenian swam 12 hours straight and rested in the next 12 hours, according to people in the know.
With Mualla during the interview were a few members of the team that joined him during the mission that ran from Sept. 20 to 21. Swimming for the 36-year-old Mualla went beyond training and joining competitions.
After he retired in 2004 he wanted to do one last thing for his country and nation. When his friend from Egypt, Salah Ramadan, suggested he cross two continents swimming, Mualla warmed to the idea in a flash.
He wanted to spread a message, “Syria Country of Peace”, and this is what kept him swimming till the end, he said.
The preparations took all of nine months. Mualla trained in the swimming pool though it was harder, and swam for short distances in the sea. Then he did a first attempt nine days prior to Sep. 20. It started at 7 a.m. but was aborted after 14 hours.
In the second attempt, around 20 people joined him in six equipped boats including two from the Guinness Book team. They set out at 6 p.m. in order to have ideal conditions.
“Since my childhood I was fond of dolphins and I saw seven of them surrounding me when I started. It was a great comfort and I took it as a good sign and went on,” he says. He takes rest for 20 minutes but keeps himself immersed at sea. His colleagues rubbed grease on his body as protection from the salty sea for long hours. He also went on a diet while swimming.
“I thought of quitting but because the title of the mission, I could not do it,” said the swimmer who holds a law degree. The head of Public Relations at the Syrian Olympic Committee, Salam Allawi, was among the crew who joined and supported him. According to Mualla, he had been all the more fired up when she told me: “ Do not think of the people who loves you, think of those who will make fun of you. That was really funny but also encouraging.”
According to the team who joined Mualla, he was supposed to finish in 32 hours, but he suddenly faced a whirl for three hours. Allawi said they could not tell him lest he panics. They kept telling him he was moving forward though he was not. “It exhausted him but he was really brave and continued to swim,” he said.
Whenever his support team felt that Mualla was flagging, his colleagues including Ramdan would jump in the water and swim next to him to boost his spirit.
“Six hours before he reached the shores the doctor stressed Mualla must get out of the sea,” said Allawi but she added, “Feras was determined to finish it and he either do or do not make it.”
As soon as he nears the finish line, fans were milling about for his arrival to congratulate him and to check on his health. For 10 hours he could not eat or drink.
“The recognition and support I got from the country and the Arab nation was enough to make me forget all my stress and raise my country’s flag. That was the least thing I could do for those who were watching me and praying for me day and night until I reached the Syrian shores,” he said. “It is exactly like what happens with track and field athletes. They may fall after crossing the finish line, but they would stand up again charged with energy just to hold their country’s flag and do a lap of honor with it. “We just do not think, it just happens.”
Now the deputy-president of the General Federation and Syrian Olympic Committee, Mualla said it was a great honor for him to have met Syria’s President Bashar Assad who was there in both attempts to check on him, support him and congratulate him. “The president told me that after he got back home he found his child clad in swimming attire because he wanted to be like Feras Mualla.”
“I never regret doing it and I will encourage any Arab and of course Syrian who would want to do it, but there is no way I would do it again,” he said half-jokingly. He was, of course, relieved the mission was a success and he was still alive.
Swimming simply is in his blood. “Even during his engagement ceremony Feras Mualla was spotted swimming until the last minutes,” said Allawi. He now owns a school with his brother where they teach swimming for children. He told Arab News he would be delighted to consider teaching the handicapped too how to swim and work with Saudi Hassan Al-Hamdan who started this project in Riyadh for free.
The swimmer, a long-distance specialist, had brought his country many laurels, among them, victory in the 1990 Championship for Amateurs in Italy. He was Arab champion from 1991 to 2003. He also placed fourth at the 1998 Swimming World Cup held in Japan, became Asian champion in 2002 and ranked second on Asian level in 2004. He won an international race in Canada in 2000, and placed fifth at the World Pro Swimming Cup in France in 1996.
