Abla Adel Khairy is one of Egypt’s most distinguished long distance swimmers and a significant figure in the history of Egyptian swimming.

Her most notable achievements include:

In August 1974, at just 13 years old, she successfully crossed the English Channel from England to France, becoming the youngest swimmer in the world at the time to accomplish the crossing.

Her first Channel crossing took approximately 12 hours and 30 minutes.

She went on to cross the English Channel three times — in 1974, 1975, and 1977.

In her 1975 crossing, she improved her time to approximately 10 hours and 52 minutes.

She won the International Nile Swimming Race in 1974 and achieved success in other international open-water competitions, including the Capri–Naples race.

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat honored her with Egypt’s First Class Sports Medal for her outstanding achievement.

Before becoming an open-water swimming champion, she was already a successful competitive pool swimmer in Egypt.

Legendary Egyptian marathon swimmer Abdel Latif Abou Heif encouraged her to pursue long-distance and open-water swimming.

Swimming was also part of her family heritage. Her mother, Enas Hakkı, was a pioneering Egyptian swimmer. Her father was the well-known actor Adel Khairy, and her grandfather was the celebrated Egyptian playwright Badie Khairy.

Abla Khairy’s achievement at such a young age made her one of the pioneering women of Egyptian and international open-water swimming.