Asmahan Farhat (born Mercedes Farhat on May 1, 1990Asmahan Farhat
at the Beijing Olympics) is an Libyan-American

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. Born in Strongsville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, she began training with the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins before moving down to

Marco Island, Florida Marco Island is a small sea island, or barrier island, on the Gulf Coast of the United States located 20 miles (32 km) south of Naples in Collier County, Florida. Marco Island is an affluent beach and boating resort island with a small-town ...

at age 11, where she began swimming with her father for the local swim team and with her sister at the YMCA. She graduated from Lely High School in 2008, and broke numerous school and conference records while taking home district and regional titles during her time at the high school. In 2005, Farhat's father, Kamal, convinced her to swim for Libya. As a result, she changed her name to Asmahan (in honor of her aunt) and applied for dual-citizenship. Farhat represented Libya 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 ...

in Beijing. She was the fourth woman ever to swim for Libya at the Olympic Games, following

Amira Edrahi Amira Edrahi ( ar, أميرة ادراحي; born October 15, 1986) is a Libyan swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Career Edrahi qualified for the women's 50 m freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by receiving a Uni ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and

Nadia Fezzani Nadia Fezzani is a Canadian journalist/author who has conducted extensive research about and interviews with many notorious American serial killers. She is known in Europe as having interviewed American serial killer Richard Cottingham for a Frenc ...

and

Soad Fezzani Soad Fezzani is a Libyan swimmer. She competed in three events at the 1980 Summer Olympics. References Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Libyan female swimmers Olympic swimmers of Libya Swimmers at the 1980 Summer O ...

in the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

in Moscow. She won her heat in the women's 100 metre breaststroke event, with a time of 1:21.68, but finished 47th overall and did not advance. Her time was a new personal best. She began studying at the University of Florida a few days after competing in Beijing, and became a sister of

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AOI ...

sorority. She is also a member of the Florida Cicerones. In Fall of 2012 she began the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She graduated as a

Doctor of Pharmacy A Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD; New Latin: ''Pharmaciae Doctor'') is a professional doctorate in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a doctoral degree to practice the profession of pharmacy or to become a clinical pharmacist. In many countries the ...

in 2016 and continued her career at Walgreens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farhat, Asmahan 1990 births Living people Libyan female swimmers Olympic swimmers of Libya Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics People from Strongsville, Ohio Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio

See also

References