613 in Paris: Carleton Raven alumnus, Yazan Al-Bawwab, swimming for Palestine in his Olympic return

“613 in Paris” is our nine-part series profiling Olympic athletes representing Ottawa-Gatineau at Paris 2024. These written interviews, conducted ahead of the competition, delve into each athlete’s experience with pandemic-era training, inspiration and community support, competition-day routines and rituals, and key elements to watch for in their respective sports.

Carleton University engineering graduate, Yazan Al-Bawwab, carries the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders. The former Raven will proudly fly the Palestinian flag in his return to the Olympic Games.

Yazan Al-Bawwab in the pool ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Photo via pal_olympic/Instagram.

Apt613 connected with the 24-year-old swimmer for a written interview attending an Olympic training camp in the Netherlands. In the interview, Al-Bawwab credits his tenure on the Carleton Ravens Swim Team, highlights his cause to bring swim education to Palestine, and shares what to look for in the Paris pool.

Responses have been edited for clarity and length.

Al-Bawwab made a splash on the Olympic stage at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, as one-fifth of the Palestinian delegation. He returns to his second Olympics driven by his “Palestinian roots and raising awareness to [his] cause”—as Al-Bawwab describes it, sharing his story “as an echo of so many untold ones…representing a homeland that’s often misunderstood… [and] carrying the weight of its stories, its pains, its resilience, every time [he] step[s] onto the global stage.”

The 24-year-old swimmer was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian refugees. At three years old, his family moved to Dubai. Shortly afterwards, a young Al-Bawwab was introduced to swimming and, in doing so, fulfilled his father’s lifelong dream of learning the skill.

While his father supported pool time, Al-Bawwab recounts his mother’s emphasis on school time. Al-Bawwab earned his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Carleton in 2022. During his tenure, he competed with the Carleton Ravens Swim Team for two seasons. He credits his former coach, Pierre Lafontaine, and team manager, Lynn Marshall, for “helping me get to where I am as a person and my swimming to a high level.”

Undoubtedly the former Raven soared to high levels—punching his tickets to the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games while also securing more than a dozen Palestinian national swimming records. The swimmer most recently won two golds at the 2023 Arab Sports Games in Men’s 50m and 100m Freestyle.

Preparations for the Covid-era Olympics required a nimble training regime. “The pandemic forced me to move around more frequently to find suitable places to train.” The swimmer spent time training in Nepean, Trois-Rivières, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Netherlands.

Despite his jet-setting, Al-Bawwab holds a fond reverence for Canada’s capital: “I love Ottawa. The community is so nice [to me] during lane swims. It’s the perfect middle between a big city and the countryside. [While] I don’t live there anymore, it’s my favourite place in the world.”

Outside of the pool, Al-Bawwab perpetuates the importance of swimming and education instilled by his parents. In 2023, he was selected for the International Olympic Committee’s Young Leaders Programme, which empowers athletes to make a positive difference through sport. SwimHope Palestine is Al-Bawwab’s initiative to provide access to essential swimming education and life-saving water skills, particularly for young children in Palestine’s underprivileged and refugee communities.

Two-time Olympian and Carleton University alumnus, Yazan Al-Bawwab, in front of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games. Photo via Yazan Al Bawwab OLY, B.ENG, EIT/LinkedIn.

Viewers need not hold their breath, Al-Bawwab soon enters the Paris pool for the Men’s 100m Backstroke on July 28 (with the Final the next day). The swimmer says keen spectators should “watch for the underwater [portion] and how long [swmmers] stay underwater for.” The two-time Olympian says: “[we’re allowed] a maximum of 15 meters [but] I would personally do more if they let me.”

Follow Yazan Al-Bawwab in his Olympic return on Facebook and Instagram.