Director General and Technical Director of the Olympic Council of Asia, Hussain Al Musallam, expressed his delight at the improved performances of participants at the 19th GCC Swimming Championships which ended yesterday.
However, he believes the sport’s history in the Gulf and Arab culture in general are the two main reasons why GCC swimmers are lagging behind the international mark.
Al Musallam, who is also on the bureau of world body FINA, told XPRESS: "We have to change our system and our way of life. Firstly, the sport has a history of just about 35 years in GCC countries and the Arab world when you compare it to other countries.
"The second thing is culture. Family is very important in our culture, so is Ramadan. We devote lot of time to visiting relatives and attending marriages. These are all things which strongly affect our swimmers. You can’t take breaks. Whether it’s Ramadan or Eid, the swimmer must still train.
"We tend to sleep, go to malls, visit friends. Swimming requires tough discipline. In football, you can drink or smoke and you can still be a Maradona, but not in swimming," he added.
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