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EGYEgyptSport:SwimmingHassan Abd el Rehim was an Egyptian army officer and a leading Channel swimmer in the years when international races attracted growing attention to the crossing. He completed four successful solo swims between 1948 and 1951, including crossings in both directions, building his career through repeated returns to the same demanding waterway.
His outstanding performance came in the 1950 Daily Mail Channel race. Swimming from France to England, he finished first in 10 hours and 50 minutes and established a Channel speed record that stood until 1960. Harry Sharp piloted his escort boat, Britannia, and he landed at South Foreland. The result placed him among the central figures of the post-war Channel racing era.
He returned for the 1951 race and finished third in 12 hours and 25 minutes, reaching Shakespeare Cliff. That swim used a different escort arrangement: E. Duggen piloted Early Morn. His swimming also extended beyond the Dover Strait. On 31 July 1952 he reached Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, an achievement associated with an unusual prize offer of livestock or cash.
He was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966. His record combines sustained participation, success in competitive Channel racing and a long-standing speed benchmark.
1950 Channel race winner · 10 hours 50 minutes
Also recorded as Hassan Abdel Rehim, Hassan Abd El Rehim.
Crossing details, recordings & verificationSolo swim
Tuesday, 22 August 1950 (recorded swim date)
France → England
Elapsed time · 10h 50m
Start clock · Clock time not confirmed
Finish clock · Clock time not confirmed
Sources disagree · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.
Solo swim
Thursday, 16 August 1951 (recorded swim date)
France → England
Elapsed time · 12h 25m
Start clock · Clock time not confirmed
Finish clock · Clock time not confirmed
Published account checked · See the crossing record for qualifications and supporting evidence.
Open-water swimming · Solo swim
Thursday, 31 July 1952 (event date)
Bristol Channel, England → Lundy Island
Completed the Bristol Channel swim to Lundy.
Published distance · 16 miles
Historical account checked · Details and qualifications are in the career evidence.
1948
Began a sequence of four successful Channel seasons.
1949
Completed an England-to-France solo.
Tuesday, 22 August 1950
The published swim record dates his 10-hour-50-minute France-to-England victory to 22 August.
Thursday, 16 August 1951
Completed France-to-England in 12 hours 25 minutes.
Thursday, 31 July 1952
Reached Lundy in the Bristol Channel.
1966
Inducted as an Honor Swimmer of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
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First recorded finish
1 more finish needed
0 of 1 recorded
Selected swimming performances appear in the English Channel record above.
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