At only 17 years old, Maesha Saadi will participate in the Paris Olympics in swimming, a sport she has been practicing competitively for less than three years! This Viennese with dual Franco-Comorian nationality will represent the Comoros, her father’s country.
With a mother who swam competitively at a good level (National 2) and « [lui] gave some technical advice and [qu’elle] often accompanied him to the edge of the pools », Maesha Saadi undoubtedly had some predispositions for swimming. But she certainly did not envisage one day participating in the Olympic Games in this discipline. “I was born and raised in Vienna until I was 11, before moving to the Comoros. There, at 14, I took part in a small 25 meter freestyle competition, which I won. But I never thought it would take me to the Olympics! ». Spotted that day by members of the Comoros Olympic committee, she joined the program that would take her to Paris 2024, with a scholarship to boot.
Salt water
Passing through France ” for the holidays “ a few months later (in 2022), she then begins to do sessions with her mother’s former trainer. “He then coached me remotely for a school year, with three or four sessions per week. But it was a bit complicated, because I was swimming in a pool filled with salt water, outside, after school, with night falling quickly. » Maesha decides to come back “for swimming” and joined the Vienne Condrieu Olympique club in September 2023. She trains there every day (for 1.5 to 2 hours, adding a 1.5 hour weight training session on Saturdays), in a group of eight swimmers aged 12 to 18, including two girls, in which she does not feel “neither in front of everyone, nor in the street, even if the boys swim a little faster. » All while continuing to follow a traditional school curriculum, in first grade.
surpass yourself
With a personal best of 30.96 seconds (more than seven seconds from the world record), Maesha knows that she will not qualify for the 50m freestyle final in Paris. But she believes that her Games will be successful if she does ” to fall [son] record, goes above and beyond to make proud the people who
[l’]surround”… and had great encounters, particularly with the stars of tennis, a sport she practiced when she was younger.
Very far from the minimums (set at 24 seconds 70 hundredths in the women’s 50 meter freestyle), Maesha Saadi will participate in the Olympics under the “universality places”, granted to athletes representing “small countries”, with poorly developed sports infrastructures .
