Egypt came out on top at a milestone event: the first FISU World University Championship in finswimming ever staged in Africa, held in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh on 28-29 October. Racing on home water, Egyptian swimmers collected seven gold, nine silver and three bronze medals to finish first in the table, ahead of teams from around 20 countries including China, France, Japan, Russia, Germany, Italy and Tunisia.
If you have never watched finswimming, it is worth a look. Athletes speed through the water wearing fins — often a single monofin — either at the surface with a snorkel or fully submerged. A bi-fins discipline, using two separate fins, was added with CMAS-approved equipment in 2007. The sport is governed by the World Underwater Federation (CMAS), which has run alongside FISU for this championship.
The hosts made the podium a habit. Tarek Hassan Elsayed opened the meet by winning the 100-metre surface race in 34.50 seconds — a competition record he had already lowered in the heats, shaving over a second off his own mark in the final. China's Guan Hanzhi took silver. Mohab Ehab completed a difficult double, winning the men's 400-metre and 800-metre surface races on consecutive days, with Mahmoud Waleed Ali second in both before taking the 200-metre title himself. On the women's side, Nada Magdy won the 800 and 400-metre surface races, with Malak Sherif runner-up each time, and Ahmed Mohamed Aly added gold in the 400-metre bi-fins.
The event was originally set for April but was postponed because of regional security concerns before FISU confirmed the autumn dates. Organisers expected roughly 200 athletes, and Egypt's Ministry of Higher Education framed the championship as a boost for both university sport and sports tourism — a sector Sharm El-Sheikh has quietly been building a case for.
This was not the city's first brush with the sport. Sharm El-Sheikh hosted the World Junior Finswimming Championship in 2019, the first CMAS African Seniors Championship in 2023 and the open-water world championships in El Alamein in 2025, where Egypt won 31 medals. The national team has been on a roll internationally too, with strong medal hauls at world championships in Italy (2022) and France (2024).
For travellers, the takeaway is that Sharm El-Sheikh is positioning itself as more than a diving-and-beach resort town — it is now a regular stop on the international underwater-sports calendar. If you are a swimmer, a fan of niche sport, or just someone who likes combining a Red Sea holiday with something to watch, it is worth checking the CMAS and FISU calendars before booking. And even without a competition on, the same clear, warm water that makes the city a finswimming venue makes it one of the world's most accessible places to snorkel and dive.
Egyptian Streets
