Gamal Khalifa took up sport in his childhood and soon came to focus on swimming. During the late 1930s and 1940s, he won many national titles and represented Egypt at international competitions. He was selected as a reserve with the Egyptian water polo squad at the 1948 London Olympics, but did not take part in any of the team’s matches. After the Games he was offered opportunities to coach at home and abroad, but he refused them in the hopes of continuing to compete. By career he was a member of the military, and he was killed in January 1949 while serving in the Arab–Israeli War. His brother Abdel Aziz, who took part in three editions of the Olympic water polo tournament (1948, 1956, 1960), was also killed while serving in the military.
Egypt