From Syria bombs to Paris Olympics: Inside the Australian swimming miracle of Bond University

Shortly after the air raid, the Syrian national record holder (200m and 400m freestyle) was forced to flee his homeland’s civil war. His first stop was Thailand, then Bond University on the Gold Coast in December last year.

The 25-year-old’s next trip away will be to Paris and the Olympics.

“It is like a dream,” Omar told CODE Sports. “It’s hard to describe my feelings because I still can’t quite believe it.”

It’s also a celebration for Bond Uni’s head coach Chris Mooney, along with his team Zander Hey and Kyle Samuelson. While most Paris 2024 athletes had their programs planned years in advance, the Bond crew had only six months to chart Abbass’s course to the Olympics.

“I’m really proud and happy for Omar,” Mooney told CODE.

“We were planning our Christmas break when Omar and the other World Aquatic Scholarship holders arrived in December. We asked ourselves, how long have we got and what are we supposed to do? We did the maths and said it’s not ideal, but we’ve got time. I asked Omar how fit he was and he said he’d been on a break. I said to him, ‘You’ve got two weeks, go get fit and then I’m coming to you’.”

Abbass is caught between the physiological worlds of aerobic and anaerobic in his events. His training sessions saw him working on endurance in the morning and speed in the afternoon.

On top of an enormous increase in workload, Abbass also transformed the way he swims.

“I’ve changed about 70 per cent of what I do,” he said. “I have a different swimming technique and race plan. I think there will be even more benefits coming over the next year.”

The bombing attack that Abbass narrowly escaped killed four people. Much of his life in Syria was coloured by war.

Mooney and his squad have genuine respect for their training partner.

“The level of resilience Omar has endured is something we aren’t used to seeing,” Mooney said.

“Putting a ding in your car or your surfboard flying off your roof aren’t really comparable to what he’s been through. I’m not sure how much of the adversity Omar has shared with his teammates but they aren’t idiots, they’re aware of his situation. They realise just how fortunate we are.”

One of Abbass’s training partners is teenage sprint sensation Flynn Southam, who is expected to figure prominently in the current Olympic Trials in Brisbane. Training alongside talent like Southam has also added to the Syrian’s dramatic improvement.

“It’s exciting to train with great swimmers,” Abbass said. “I’ve always wanted to train with swimmers that are faster than me and Flynn is certainly that.”

Abbass recently started teaching international students at Bond how to swim; 35 per cent of the Gold Coast campus student body is from overseas and many have limited swimming ability.

“I wanted something to do with my spare time,” Abbass said. “I don’t want to just sit in bed and think about swimming, so this keeps me occupied. I have a lot of experience with swimming and I want to pass that on.”

Abbass isn’t the only international swimmer at Bond Uni who is planning for Paris. Lani Connolly from the Cook Islands and Finau Ohuafi from Tonga also have high hopes for Olympic appearances.

Before Ohuafi arrived at Bond in December, his training in Tonga was limited to mostly ocean swims, with the only 25m pool on a distant island.

“I’ve done a number of personal bests since I’ve been here,” said Ohuafi, who is eyeing the opening ceremony. “If I make it to Paris I will be one of only three swimmers from Tonga. Swimming is always on at the start of the Olympics but if I make the team I want to march.”

Teenager Connolly is currently studying bio medicine but will put that on hold if she gets the nod for Paris.

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“It’s only 50 days away, I hope I’m there, “ Connolly said. “Australia has world class swimmers, so when I heard about the opportunity I jumped at it. To be able to train with such high quality swimmers has helped me progress enormously.”

Should Connolly and Ohuafi join Abbass on the plane to Paris, it will be a remarkable achievement for the Bond program. Just six months ago, five swimmers from five different countries arrived on the pool deck with nothing but Olympic dreams.

“There are a lot of excuses and a lot of distractions for these swimmers and none have appeared.” Mooney said. “There has been an outstanding accountability from the athletes and that’s a big part of it.”