The Mind Behind the Medals: Nada Magdy Hagrass and Finswimming's Egyptian Rise

Nada Magdy Hagrass remembers almost nothing about her first national finswimming competition. She was young, nervous beyond recollection, and somehow managed to post results good enough to announce her arrival in Egyptian swimming. What she does remember is the realization that this sport, this specific discipline of underwater racing with monofins, had pulled her into something larger than she understood.

Eleven years later, Hagrass carries multiple world championship gold medals. At 20, she stands as one of Egypt's most accomplished finswimmers, a three-time gold medalist from the 2024 CMAS Open Water World Championships in France where she dominated the women's 1km and 5km surface events and anchored Egypt's victorious 4x1km mixed relay. She has represented Egypt at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu. She has been a fixture on the national team since 2021.

And she has learned what those early competitions couldn't teach her: that managing the mind matters more than any technical adjustment she could make in the water.

"I used to be extremely nervous," Hagrass says. "I don't even remember how I felt before races. But over time, I started to calm down, and the nervousness became normal before any race. In the last few years, I've been seeing a mental health doctor, and that's the most important thing in any athlete's life."

It's a statement that carries weight beyond its simplicity. Professional athletes at far later career stages resist acknowledging psychological support. Hagrass recognized its necessity while still building her medal collection. The shift from memory-blanking anxiety to managed pre-race nerves required professional intervention, and she pursued it without hesitation.

That clarity appears throughout her approach to the sport. When asked about barriers facing Egyptian finswimmers compared to athletes from traditional European finswimming powers, Hagrass identifies structural realities without complaint. Equipment costs create immediate obstacles when measured against Egyptian currency and income levels. Sponsorship remains scarce for elite swimmers despite Egypt fielding the largest finswimming contingent among African nations. The federation president has provided consistent support since her first world medal, but individual resources remain limited.

These obstacles exist. Hagrass competes anyway. She trains through them. She accumulates medals despite them.

Her mother remains central to that persistence. The relationship transcends typical parental support, shaping Hagrass's fundamental approach to competitive swimming. "Now, after every victory, I see the pride in her eyes," Hagrass explains. "I remain happy because of that, and because I see the journey we've taken together to get to this place now."

The phrasing matters: journey taken together, not journey observed. Her mother's influence appears in Hagrass's current training and competition mindset even as the athlete operates at world championship level. The pride Hagrass seeks isn't external validation but continuation of shared progress. It's motivation that sustains through long seasons and difficult training blocks.

Following her 2024 competitive season, Hagrass entered strategic recalibration. Rest came first, required for physical and mental recovery before pursuing new goals. Now she works with coaches to develop an entirely new training plan, one that addresses previous mistakes with specific focus. Technical elements like turns and streamlines require refinement. The errors are identifiable. The corrections are underway.

But technical adjustments represent only part of Hagrass's current challenge. She studies business at university, a career path she genuinely values. When championship dates coincide with examinations, the exam gets rescheduled to makeup periods. Race dates remain fixed. Managing elite sport and demanding academics simultaneously creates constant tension, yet Hagrass maintains both commitments. Sometimes sacrifice occurs. Other elements prove non-negotiable.

Her goals reflect both ambition and specificity. She targets her own records in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m events. Local and regional records hold limited appeal. Hagrass wants world records. She wants to break them globally, not just within Arab or African contexts. The next World Games provides opportunity. The records remain the objective.

Those targets explain why she entered mental health support early in her career. World championship medals create expectations. Each new competition carries weight from previous achievements. The pressure compounds with each success. Hagrass recognized that managing success requires the same psychological tools as managing setbacks. She sought help before crisis forced the decision.

That wisdom, acquired at 20, positions Hagrass for sustainable excellence rather than burnout trajectory. She understands what many athletes learn too late: technical skill and physical conditioning represent necessary but insufficient elements for long-term elite performance. Mental health support isn't weakness acknowledgment. It's performance optimization.

As she builds toward her next competitive cycle, Hagrass carries advantages beyond physical talent. She has identified specific technical corrections. She maintains clear record-breaking objectives. She balances dual career commitments with deliberate priority management. She has professional support for psychological demands.

And she has her mother's pride, visible after each victory, reminding her why the journey matters beyond the medals themselves.