Marc Hinawi

Marc Hinawi was born and raised in Jaffa, where he attended Tabitha School of the Scottish Church.[1] As of July 2013, he was 16 years old, stood 1.84 meters tall, and said that he wanted to become a doctor.[1]

Hinawi began swimming at age five after joining friends at the Hapoel Bat Yam swimming association.[1] His coach, Meir Loya, recalled that even at age ten Hinawi would make three or four telephone calls about training and what he needed to do, behavior Loya viewed as evidence of unusual seriousness for a child of that age.[1] By February 2015, Hinawi was 17 and a half years old, studying in 12th grade at Tabitha School, and had been crowned Israeli champion in the 400-meter freestyle.[2]

Hinawi said his mathematics teacher, Mohammed Abu-Qaoud, taught him that sustained effort leads to success in mathematics, swimming, and life. Abu-Qaoud described him as modest, quiet, helpful, academically excellent, active in school activities, and unwilling to request special concessions after missing classes for competitions.[2]

Hinawi specialized in distance freestyle swimming, with the 1,500-meter freestyle identified by his coach as his strongest event.[1] At age 15, he broke a longstanding Israeli age-group record in the 1,500-meter freestyle, lowering the previous mark of 16:02.77, held by Amir Ganiel, to 15:48.60.[1] Israeli sports coverage described him as one of Europe's strongest swimmers of his age in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle events.[1]

In July 2013, Hinawi won the 400-meter freestyle at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands.[1] Before the final, he was ranked second and initially trailed a German swimmer before overtaking the leader near the end to take gold.[1] His coach described the victory as particularly surprising because the 400-meter freestyle was not Hinawi's strongest event.[1] Ynet reported the result as a significant milestone, characterizing him as the first Arab-Israeli swimmer to stand atop the podium as part of an Olympic delegation.[1]

At the 2014 European Junior Swimming Championships in the Netherlands, Hinawi finished 13th overall in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:56.96.[3] He was also listed among Israel's swimming representatives for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.[3]

At the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, Hinawi won a bronze medal in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:25.63 among 23 competitors.[4] The Olympic Committee report also includes his result in its summary of Israeli youth medalists for 2015.[4]

A Ynet records table listed Hinawi as the Israeli men's record holder in the non-Olympic 800-meter freestyle, with a time of 8:01.70 set on May 19, 2016.[5]

Coverage of Hinawi often foregrounded both his athletic achievements and his Arab-Israeli background. Ynet framed the 2013 Utrecht victory as a historic first in Arab-Israeli swimming.[1] A Walla Sports profile called him one of the most fascinating swimmers to emerge in Israel and said his talent and financial resources gave him the potential to become a serious prospect.[6]

When Walla Sports raised the political dimensions of his identity, Hinawi asked to be left out of politics and emphasized that he was Israeli.[6] The profile thus combined discussion of his identity with his preference that attention remain focused on his sporting achievements rather than political framing.[6]