Khalid Yahya Rushaka (born April 26, 1980) was the first Tanzanian to participate in the Olympics as a swimmer. His countrymen know Rushaka as the "Tanzanian Dolphin," for his legendary abilities in the water. "The remarkable story of how he learnt to swim and rose to fame is legendary. His father, Yahya Rushaka, was one of the sole survivors of th
Mv Bukoba ferry disaster on Lake Victoria in 1996 that claimed a thousand lives. It was his father who encouraged Khalid to learn to swim from the stories he used to tell of the brave men who saved many lives because they could swim.
His father inspired him to pursue a career in swimming. Rushaka coached himself with the help of youtube videos. He progressed quickly through the ranks and the Tanzianian Olympic Committee chose him to represent the nation. He specialized in sprint freestyle events. Rushaka represented

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, where he competed for the men's 50 m freestyle. He finished third in the third heat by forty-five hundredths of a second (0.45) ahead of 13-year-old Seychellois swimmer Dwayne Didon, with a time of 28.50 seconds. Rushaka, however, failed to advance into the semi-finals by 6.37 seconds. In 2016, ISR (International Sports Relations) Academy awarded Rushaka with a scholarship to study sports management in Busan, South Korea. The ISR Academy was the brainchild of the Olympic champion and IOC member Mood Dae Sung. He created the Organization to offer
free academic training to retiring or recently retired Olympians who are interested in furthering their careers in the field of international sports business and administration."
Rushaka entered the second class of ISR under the directorship of

Adam Pengilly Adam Laird Pengilly (born 14 October 1977) is a British skeleton racer who has competed since 2004. He won a silver medal in men's skeleton event at the FIBT World Championships 2009 in Lake Placid. Pengilly finished eighth in the men's skele ...

, ex-Olympian and a member of the IOC. Rushaka was classmates with Ukrainian middle-distance sta
Olha Zavhorodnya
Estonian arche
Siret Luik
South African wrestler Mph
"Queen of the Ring"
Madi, and Brazilian bobsledder Fabiana Dos Santos. Since returning to Tanzania, Rushaka has committed himself to building Tanzania's Olympic swimming program. He coaches promising Tanzanians at the International School of Moshi Arusha Campus. He also started Arusha Swim Club with the aim of accommodating more upcoming Tanzanians who didn't have the opportunity to study in International Schools where swimming is taken as part of the school curriculum. He is also the Founder and CEO of Sports Network Tanzania.

References

External links

NBC Olympics Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rushaka, Khalid Tanzanian male freestyle swimmers Living people Olympic swimmers for Tanzania Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 1980 births Place of birth missing (living people)