Akeela Mohammed DL says her family were ‘fortunate’ but that not all Muslim families have the same opportunities, as she explains the barriers to participating in aquatics.

She has four siblings, with two brothers and two older sisters.

Swimwear, as it is for many Muslim women and girls, was the main barrier to participation for Akeela’s family.

Her eldest sister was the first to begin learning through school swimming lessons but had to stop as she wasn’t able to cover her arms and legs.

Sharing the story of her sister’s experience, Akeela said: “When my sister got to about 11, my mum and dad said ‘oh you can’t go swimming anymore’ because once a Muslim girl gets to the age of puberty then she has to cover.

Read Akeela’s full story here.

Eid Aljazairli admits that swimming and being in the water helps him feel ‘free’ and provides a place where he isn’t judged or ‘titled’.

Eid is a refugee swimmer who fled Syria and moved to the UK back in 2018. He lived in a YMCA hostel in London and grew a passion for swimming after accidentally stumbling upon videos of Michael Phelps.

From that day, Eid says ‘the dream was born’ as he has his sights set on competing for the refugee Olympic team at Paris 2024.

When he arrived in the UK, Eid had no money and has predominantly taught himself how to swim, whilst also securing a few free lessons along the way.

Recalling his experiences in Syria, he said: “When I was back home in Syria, I had never swam in my life.

“I used to go to the pool with my friends just to chill, sit around, have fun – I never had any swimming lessons in Syria.

Read Eid’s full story here.

Katrice Rodrigues is hoping for change as she says diversity in aquatics is improving, but there’s still ‘a long way to go’.

Qualified Swim England tutor, Katrice, has been a part of aquatics at every level, from learning to swim, swimming competitively, becoming a swimming teacher and now a tutor.

She is a member of the Black Teachers Association and is currently working towards establishing a swim group called ‘Afro Aquatics’ in Leicester to provide opportunities for those from the Afro-Caribbean community to swim regularly.

Katrice is from a mixed ethnic background, her dad is from Jamaica and her mum is white English, but she was adopted at a young age and grew up with a white English family.

She grew up in a small village before moving to the city of Leicester whilst still in secondary school.

Her parents were supportive of her and her brother’s choice to start swimming, and the pair began lessons at around eight-years-old, with Katrice later moving into a competitive swimming club.

Read Katrice’s full story here.