A new global achievement for Lebanese swimming was accomplished by the swimmers of the "Broswam" Academy, showcased through their impressive results at the recent Vienna International Swimming Championship held in the Austrian capital. Only 13 Lebanese swimmers from "Broswam" competed against over a thousand swimmers representing 72 clubs from 13 European countries, achieving 31 colored medals (11 gold, 11 silver, and 9 bronze), and setting 7 new Lebanese records, broken by swimmers Maria Saba (4 records) and Tia Abed (3 records), as follows:
- Maria Saba:
- 50m backstroke: 31.78 seconds (previous record 32.20s by the same swimmer).
- 100m backstroke: 1:07.69 minutes initially, later improved to 1:07.44 minutes (previously 1:08.32 minutes by Leticia Hamdoun).
- 200m backstroke: 2:25.77 minutes (previous record 2:27.62 minutes by the same swimmer).
- Tia Abed:
- 50m breaststroke: 33.34 seconds initially, then improved to 32.94 seconds.
- 100m breaststroke: 1:14.81 minutes (previous record 1:15.31 minutes by the same swimmer).
In the final overall standings, the Lebanese team secured third place, elevating the name and flag of Lebanon high, especially since they were the only non-European team in the championship. The "Broswam" delegation consisted of the following swimmers: Sasha Saqr, Tia Abed, Maria Saba, Gael Bashallani, Layan Dubibo, Mona Takla, Sky Aoun, Jude Aoun, Adam Hamadeh, Shadi Marquez, Omar Sano, Ghassan Zein, and Mohammed Suwaidan.
The head of the delegation - director of the "Broswam" Academy, national coach Mohamed Saqr, congratulated his swimmers on their outstanding results, thanking assistant coach Hussein Nour El-Din and the swimmers' families for their support "that made achieving these results possible, amid the current economic conditions."
