TOKYO – For Gabriella Doueihy, a McGill University graduate, just competing in her second Olympic Games on Monday was an accomplishment. The 22-year-old freestyle specialist, who swam three seasons with the McGill Martlets, was unable to advance past the preliminary round, finishing fifth in her 200-metre freestyle heat in two minutes, 11.29 seconds. 

Doueihy (BSc '21), a recently graduated biology senior and a native of Ehden, in Lebanon, had previously competed for her country at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she was clocked at 4:31.21 in the 400 free.
 
"I am very grateful to be able to do what I love the most: representing my country in the sport that I cherish so much," wrote Doueihy on her Instagram and Facebook accounts. "Swimming at the Olympics for the second time was a dream… that became a reality. The past two years and especially the past few months have been the hardest of my swimming career, mostly on a mental level…. I believe that sports are beyond a time or a race. Today, it's about the people who made my Tokyo dream come true."
 
Like many athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Doueihy had a challenging year with minimal training.  After helping lead the McGill swim team to an unexpected Quebec conference championship in February of 2020, the team was unable to compete in 2020-21. As part of her academic program during the past school year, she volunteered at a medical research institute in Montreal, where she also helped check for coronavirus symptoms, controlled access to a designated red zone and enforced prevention of the COVID protocol.

In previous Instagram messages just prior to the Tokyo Games, Doueihy explained part of her recent difficulties, mentioning that she had qualified for the Tokyo Games under FINA rules (i.e. from the international governing body) based upon her times at a 2019 Olympic qualifying meet in Vienna. But the Lebanese swimming federation gave only a few weeks notice in May this year that they decided to only consider results posted in 2021. In the end, the FINA did not agree with the Lebanese federation and sent her an invitation to compete in Tokyo, as she was the top-ranked qualifying Lebanese swimmer in the 200m free. 
 
Doueihy, who also served as a flagbearer for Lebanon at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, had not swam competitively since March of 2020 heading into Tokyo, where her heat time on Monday was shy of her 2019 qualifying time (2:08.48) in Vienna.

In her social media channels this week, she went on to thank her family, coaches, friends and her McGill connections.
 
"My McGill family @mcgill_swimming (and) @mcgillathletics who is always behind me through thick and thin," noted Doueihy, who singled out McGill head coach Peter Carpenter, among others. "My friends who were there every step of the way and were always cheering for me. I'm lucky to say that they are more than just a few and they can't all be named. I will always be thankful for their positive energy."

She is among six McGill students or graduates competing at the Tokyo Olympics, a group that includes rower Gabrielle Smith (BSc '17) of Unionville, Ont., who is in tonight's medal round (July 27 at 8:18 p.m. EDT) in women's double sculls.

Rounding out the competing McGillians is water polo's Joelle Bekhazi (MSc '15) of Pte. Claire, Que., and three members of the men's national fencing squad:  Alex Cai, a current biology and anatomy junior from Toronto, Shaul Gordon (BCL/LLB '19, LLM '21), a law school graduate from Richmond, B.C., and Maximilien Van Haaster (BSc '16), a kinesiology grad from Montreal.

In all, some 21 McGillians are directly involved at the Games, including David Paradelo (B.Eng '09), head coach of the women's water polo team and rugby referee Julianne Zussman (BA '08).


SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca