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TEENAGE Lianna Swan, who once enjoyed splashing around the pool in Bahrain and representing her school, has competed against the world’s top swimmers at this year’s Rio Olympics.
The former St Christopher’s School pupil, who was born in Awali, competed in the 50m freestyle event at the Games, cheered on by her mum, Nadia, a former Radio Bahrain and TV newsreader, business executive dad, David, a former school governor, and older brother, Matthew.
Lianna, 19, representing Pakistan, completed the heats in 29.02 seconds and despite not making it into the final stages, still feels blessed to having taken part in the biggest sporting event in the world.
“It felt amazing to be selected to compete on behalf of my country. It was an unbelievable opportunity and I’m thrilled to been able to share it with my family here in Rio. I’m not sure how much better it can get than the Olympics!” she said.
Nadia is now a personal trainer in Dubai, and David, general manager of Frigoglass ice cold merchandiser. Their son, Matthew, who also attended St Chris, has graduated from the UK’s Queen Mary University in politics.
“Matthew is a good tennis player and swimmer and my husband and I have always enjoyed swimming, tennis, squash, running, skiing and the gym,” said Nadia, who was also well-known for her endeavours supporting the Palm Association, once braving freezing temperatures and altitude sickness to conquer the 5,891m Mount Killimanjaro to raise funds for the charity.
“As for Lianna, she has been in the pool since she was six-months-old and then swimming for fun from the age of seven. But it never entered my mind that she would someday go to the Olympics although she was always a good swimmer.
“She represented St Christopher’s School in the regional British Schools of the Middle East competitions. I’m just delighted that her hard work in the pool over the years has allowed her to participate in the Olympic Games. We are immensely proud of her.”
The family moved to Dubai when Lianna was 12 and her swimming prowess progressed and prospered. She trained six-times-a-week with coach Seth Chappels of the Dubai Masters Swim Club, competed in several international competitions around the world for Pakistan, although she has dual UK nationality.
She said: “The British team is really prestigious as well, but being able to swim for your country, any country, is an achievement. I think when I first started swimming for Pakistan that was the turning point for me.”
She secured her passport to Rio after impressing at the 16th World Aquatics Championship in Kazan, Russia, last year. Lianna has also competed in the 2010 Asian Games, the 2011 FINA World Cup in Dubai and the 2013 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Spain.
She was also entered into five events - the breaststroke 50m and 100m, freestyle 50m and100m and individual medley 200m - at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. In her first, the 50m breaststroke, she broke her own national record of 00.37.11 by swimming a heat in 00.35.72 and was placed third. In the 100m freestyle event she broke her own national record of 01:03:52 by swimming 01:03:32 and coming sixth.
In February 2016, Lianna won gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke and silver in the 100m breaststroke in the 2016 South Asian Games.
She said: “The Commonwealth Games and the world championships helped me to build experience and confidence and the Olympic Games is another milestone.”
She currently holds 11 Pakistani national records, seven individual ones and three relays under her belt.
Her studies have also been going swimmingly as she recently completed her first year at the UK’s celebrated Loughborough University in sports science and management. She has two more years to go and will continue to return regularly to Pakistan to compete when called upon.
Lianna also keeps in touch with her friends in Bahrain and thanks them for the constant support and mum said they will always be ‘grateful’ to her teachers in the kingdom, Kirsty Mitchell, Jayne Palmer and Aileen Barr who inspired and helped her develop a love of swimming, and more recentlym coach Chappels in Dubai.
Wendy Bataineh, headteacher of St Chris’ Junior School, said: “I remember Lianna as a very enthusiastic, bubbly and talented pupil.
“Lianna showed dedication and commitment to sports at a young age and was a valued member of our swim-squad. She was selected to represent the school at the BSME Games both in Dubai in 2007 and in Qatar the following year.
“I’m immensely proud of all she has achieved to date. It is an incredible achievement to be part of an Olympic squad and will be an inspirational story for all of our current pupils.”
