Muhammad Ali El-Din

By the mid-1930s, Muhammad Ali El-Din was already well-known for his swimming and water polo exploits as a member of the Maadi Sporting Club, and he travelled to England during that decade to train and hone his skills. Egypt did not send a water polo team to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, however, and Ali El-Din did not make the swimming delegation, thus missing his best chance for an Olympic appearance. He was selected as a reserve with the Egyptian water polo squad at the 1948 London Games, but did not see any playing time.

Ali El-Din attended Egyptian University (now Cairo University) and served in the Royal Egyptian Army, attaining the rank of Bikbashi (Lieutenant Colonel). Following his retirement from active competition, he worked as a coach and sports administrator. He died suddenly in March 1955 and was, at that time, the President of the Cairo region’s long-distance swimming organization.