Reading Y Swim Coach, Olympic Hopeful

Amina Meho has been swimming since she was two-years-old, and just barely missed her chance to compete in the 2012 Olympics.

Meho, 21, began swimming competitively at age 10. Her father, an Olympic swimmer, moved to the United States from Lebanon to teach swimming, and of course, taught Meho. 

“My life is surrounded by swimming, which I can’t complain. I love it,” she said.

She started swimming at the Woburn YMCA, and eventually moved to the for more serious training.

“I wanted to get better and competed there from my freshman year of high school until senior year,” she said.

She now swims at UMASS Amherst, where she used to own the 50 free record (23.55), however last year a freshman broke her record by a tenth of a second with a 23.45.

“So my goal is to get it back next year,” she said.

Meho traveled to Lebanon in May to compete for a spot on their 2012 Olympic team. Originally, she was told that she would have to break her records in the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle and 50 meter butterfly to make the team. She would have swam both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle in the games. She ended up breaking the records in Lebanon, however, once she returned home and had taken a week off, she found that the rules had changed.

The Lebanese Olympic committee now wanted her to swim the 50 meter freestyle in a meter pool in 26.1, a Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) record. Her best time was a 27.1, and with only a week to break the 26.1 record Meho thought it was nearly impossible. 

Swimming in a meter pool is much different than swimming in a yard pool, she explained. Having little practice in a meter pool and coming off a week-long break were factors that did not help her in beating the 26.1 time.

Meho did not make the Olympic team, but was still invited to compete in Lebanon’s National Meet. She represented Lebanon at the 2009 World Championship in Rome and has traveled to Jordan and other places around the world to swim, she said.

“The experience has been one I’ll remember for a lifetime. I will continue to swim on Lebanon’s national team and travel the world for meets, but it is a bit sad that I won’t be able to swim in the Olympics,” Meho said. “This does not mean my career as a swimmer has ended. I will continue to swim competitively until I graduate and eventually move onto pursuing a career in the public health field.”

She would love to compete in the 2016 Olympics, but without knowing what her life will be like in four years it's hard to predict, she said. According to Meho, it is very difficult to stay "mentally focused" without a coach. If she did decide to train for the 2016 Olympics, she would need to practice two or three hours in the morning and evening with a personal trainer.

"It's definitely a possibility," she said.

Currently, she teaches swim lessons at the North Suburban Y and works weekends and summers as a lifeguard at the Burbank Y. Two weeks ago, she taught a swim camp class at the Burbank Y and spoke about having a successful swim career. 

“Although Meho did not qualify for Team Lebanon, the Burbank Y is still very much honored to have had her swim with the Burbank Y Blue Fins,” Burbank Y Aquatics Director Amy Vendt said in a recent press release. “The children are especially excited to have a swimmer who was close enough to swim in the Olympics to work with them on their swim techniques.”