Abdelrahman Elaraby [Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty]
Haridi shaved nearly a quarter of a second off his previous best of 22.18 from the 2024 Westmont Pro Series and equalled the Egyptian record set by Ali Khalafalla in 2021. Hong Kong’s Ian Ho finished second with a new season-best time of 22.15.
The result comes just four days after Elaraby struck gold in the 50m butterfly final at the Monaco leg of the tour on 18 May, clocking 22.80 to narrowly defeat Oleg Kostin (Neutral Athletes B) by five-hundredths of a second. That time places Elaraby second on the global leaderboard this season, behind Switzerland’s Noe Ponti (22.77) and ahead of the Netherlands’ Nyls Korstanje (22.88).
The Egyptian sprinter’s impressive form follows last month’s announcement that all 50m events, butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke, will be added to the Olympic programme starting with the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The move adds six new medal events and has been welcomed by sprinters worldwide.
None more so than Elaraby, who told The National in an interview published on 21 April 21, “I’m ecstatic about this. Super, super excited. It’s going to change so many things, and I’m here for it, to be honest.”
Elaraby, who has already secured qualification for the upcoming World Championships in Singapore in the 50 fly, has set his sights on making history for Egypt in the coming years.
“I want to win World Championships this year,” he said. “I want to be the first-ever Egyptian to win a gold medal at Worlds. I want to be the first [Egyptian] to medal at the Olympics — hopefully, again, another gold.” he said.
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