Maldives’ rising stars in competitive swimming are making their mark on the international scene, with a series of record-breaking achievements that highlight the growing strength and dedication of the nation’s athletes. At the forefront of this success is Hamna Ahmed, who recently rewrote the national record books by clocking 1:23.38 in the women’s longcourse 100m breaststroke, surpassing the previous national best of 1:24.65 set by Aishath Sajina in 2016. Hamna achieved this feat while competing at the prestigious 127th National Championships in Hungary.
This record marks a major personal milestone for Hamna, who has spent the last two years training and competing in Hungary, sharpening her skills in both longcourse and shortcourse formats. Known for her consistent performance and resilience, she was named the best female swimmer at last year’s National Swimming Championships in the Maldives.
The achievement is part of a broader trend, with 2024 already witnessing six new national records in swimming, announced by the Swimming Association of Maldives. Fellow swimmers Meral Ain Latheef and Aishath Ulya Shaaig are also earning international attention with outstanding performances.
Meral, currently based in England, broke the women’s longcourse 200m individual medley record at the Devon County Championships with a time of 2:45.93, shaving nearly four seconds off the previous record set by Amna Tazkiya Mirsad in 2023. She also excelled at the Welsh Capital Open Meet, recording 5:49.59 in the shortcourse 400m individual medley and surpassing a record held by In Abbas Sharif since 2022.
Meanwhile, Ulya, who is undergoing training in Australia, has claimed three new national records this year. At the SWA Hancock Prospecting State Championships, she swam the women’s longcourse 50m freestyle in 28.64 seconds, eclipsing her own previous record. She followed this with a longcourse 50m backstroke record, surpassing Aishath Sausan’s 2019 time, and concluded with a stellar 1:05.03 in the 100m freestyle at a University of Western Australia Westcoast Swimming Club meet—outpacing Tazkiya’s mark from the previous year.
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