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This 19-year-old woman will swim in the Olympics for Pakistan

This 19-year-old woman will swim in the Olympics for Pakistan

Sharmeen Obaid's second Olympics documentary features a wild card entrant
Updated 11 Aug, 2016

Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid released her second short documentary from her Dream Big Pakistan series. This time it's on swimmer Lianna Swan.

Also read: Meet the 21 year old Pakistani woman who qualified for the Olympics

The 19-year-old Lianna Swan is one of the seven representatives of Pakistan in the Rio Olympics 2016, and currently holds eleven national records. She is one of the three women representing Pakistan who will be participating in the Olympics this year.

"It's not necessarily 'Oh, I'm doing it to get to the Olympics myself.' I'm also doing it for the girls in Pakistan," says Lianna.

"Because if they see me doing it, and they've seen me swim and they've seen me train and they've seen me being able to go to the Olympics, then they know, there's no reason they can't go to the Olympics as well," she adds.

Mind you, Lianna is no newcomer to swimming, in fact, she has been a professional swimmer since she was 12.

SOC Films stated, "Having competed in the Asian Games, the FINA World Cup (Dubai 2011), FINA World Aquatics Championships (Barcelona 2013) and the FINA World Championships August 2015, held in Kazan-Russia, Lianna has been representing Pakistan internationally since 2010. Most recently, she won the Gold Medal at the South Asian Games held in India in February 2016."

Lianna will be competing in the Women's 50m freestyle category tomorrow.

This is the second documentary Sharmeen Obaid has made under the banner #DreamBigPakistan, of the two women representing Pakistan in the Olympics.

Comments

Mouli Aug 11, 2016 05:04pm
Feeling proud to have home grown talent !!
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Bilal Aug 11, 2016 05:17pm
That's great, lets hope she brings pride and joy for Pakistan. Best of luck Lianna Swan !
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Faisal Aug 11, 2016 05:17pm
Good luck Lianna. We're proud of you.
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AXH Aug 11, 2016 05:19pm
Best of luck Lianna. The 50m freestyle can produce unpredictable results because of its very nature.
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Abuzar Aug 11, 2016 05:29pm
Best of Luck.
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Omar Aug 11, 2016 05:35pm
Sharmeen Thanks for surfacing the story to put the limelight on Pakistan hidden talent. Lianna Swan Good Luck and swim to victory. Continue to dream big....THANK YOU
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Asad Baig Aug 11, 2016 05:38pm
Good Luck and All The Best!
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Factual Aug 11, 2016 05:57pm
Good luck Swan. Our best wishes with you.
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Shakil USA Aug 11, 2016 06:18pm
Go girl. Wishing you a good luck.
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NO ONE Aug 11, 2016 06:18pm
Good luck girl.
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waseem Aug 11, 2016 06:22pm
Wish her success.
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Bupi Aug 11, 2016 06:26pm
Where ever women folk are duly respected prosperity fallows be it be any nation
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Maryam Aug 11, 2016 06:29pm
How can Pakistani girls "living in Pakistan" relate to half Pakistani girl living abroad, they'll get different societal response and pressures and different resources and opportunities to begin with so the statement stands void. If they see you swimming they still might just can't!
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Zak Aug 11, 2016 06:31pm
Awesome.
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dawn Aug 11, 2016 06:33pm
Best of luck!
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bena Aug 11, 2016 06:37pm
Way to Go!
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Ehsan Aug 11, 2016 06:53pm
Best of luck
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AG Aug 11, 2016 06:56pm
Good to see that she turns to positives of Pakistan
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Da Man Aug 11, 2016 07:03pm
You go girl.
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kabir Aug 11, 2016 07:07pm
Best of luck!!!!
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Jawad Aug 11, 2016 07:21pm
How this young lady is going to bring any medal if she get stuck into small pitty things. Bringing a medal home requires competion and nothing else. Kudos.
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It is What it is Aug 11, 2016 08:14pm
All the best! Make us proud
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Agha Ata Aug 11, 2016 08:20pm
Lianna Swan you are so lucky to be there. Wish you good luck. (from fifty million sisters of yours)
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(il)Logic(al)Logic Aug 11, 2016 08:52pm
proud of you Liaana.
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Alexa Aug 11, 2016 09:05pm
@Maryam She still deserves all respects to be able to represent Pakistan in the Olympics this year. Several Pakistani girls who are born or live abroad try to adopt a foreign identity and disown their own culture and country. She, despite the fact being a half-Pakistani, is still playing for Pakistan and hopes to set an example for all Pakistani girls. Swan, may you win this year!
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Ilias Aug 11, 2016 09:57pm
Go on...You got that all !
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Shoaib Aug 11, 2016 10:03pm
Thank you!
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M Aug 11, 2016 10:12pm
Swim to success!
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Ali Aug 11, 2016 10:15pm
And the Gold Medal goes to Lianna from Pakistan!!
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Maher USA Aug 11, 2016 10:35pm
Dubai resident, She opted for Pakistan over England in 2016 olympics. She competes with 7 others in 50 meters first heat on Friday! Good luck girl.
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Changez_Khan Aug 11, 2016 11:08pm
Excellent. We Pakistani truly proud of you. Good luck.
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milind Aug 11, 2016 11:12pm
Till the time in any nation women are not considered 100% equal to men that nation cant develop. Theres a reason pakistan doesnt produce sanias, sainas, serenas and marias.
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FS Aug 11, 2016 11:27pm
Best of luck Lianna! Keep up the role modeling part post Olympic; and keep maintaining a visible profile for local athletes and especially girls to get inspired. I would hate for your story to disappear from the local conscience in just a few days. Please take a cue from athletes like Aisam who has (had?) opened a tennis camp and stays fairly visible.
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Javed Aug 11, 2016 11:41pm
All athletes and officials should be tested for Zika infection upon return to Pakistan.
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RAHEEL Aug 12, 2016 12:14am
Ma Sha Allah. Good luck the stage is all yours :)
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Ramesh Manghirmalani Aug 12, 2016 12:15am
Best of luck and good wishes from India Good Luck
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Sameer Aug 12, 2016 12:24am
Sharmeen is on a roll here. Make country proud liana
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Arshad vasti Aug 12, 2016 12:25am
@Maryam , Dr. Stop anylizing each and everything. Lets just say good luck
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Arshad , Canada Aug 12, 2016 12:45am
@Maryam , Dr. ! Stop Analyzing . Just say Good Luck and Best wishes.
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shaique Aug 12, 2016 01:07am
good luck
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Jawad pakistani Aug 12, 2016 02:21am
Feeling proud right now. Good luck!!
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Sami Aug 12, 2016 02:46am
Way to go girl !!!
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Rashed Chughtai Aug 12, 2016 02:58am
Good Luck mate. Well done on your efforts and keep delivering the best !!!
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Striker Aug 12, 2016 03:45am
God speed and best of luck!
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Abid Saeed Aug 12, 2016 04:06am
19 Year woman, she is just a girl :)
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kit kit Aug 12, 2016 04:08am
@Alexa She is only adopting Pakistan because she couldnt ever compete with the english teams. i bet she didt even visit pakistan before this.
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kit kit Aug 12, 2016 04:12am
@Maryam I agree its just a token thing here. this is not going to inspire Pakistani women i n any of the sports let alone swimming. how can it? I agree Pakistani homegrown talent cant develop due to lack of resources etc they ust recruit from abroad these days
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Chris Roberts Aug 12, 2016 04:41am
@milind Evolution is an ongoing process. Nothing remains static in spite of resistance on the part of certain individuals. It is just a matter of time. Such talented young ladies who are front and centre are the pioneers, and as society gets used to seeing and experiencing this, the mindset is bound to change as other women follow suit. So great to see this other side of Pakistan. All the best to you, Lianna!
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KashmirisPakistan Aug 12, 2016 04:57am
@milind : Cheer for her, you propagandist!
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aslam shaikh Aug 12, 2016 06:25am
All girls of Pakistan should learn swimming and participate in Olympics
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Cricket lover Aug 12, 2016 06:59am
You are God gifted - Beautiful and talented. May ALLAH bless you and protect you from evils and wish you a great success in your life. Aameen.
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Kk iftikhari Aug 12, 2016 07:02am
She will make us proud Inshallah.
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Old Ravian Aug 12, 2016 08:57am
If whe wone a medal, she will become the heroine for 200 million people......... Even Micheal Phelps does not have that much followers. !!!
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Old Ravian Aug 12, 2016 08:58am
@Maryam There is always a first............. some rebel who finds a new path. We lack such people in our country and we badly need rebels.
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Faida Jafri Alikhan Aug 12, 2016 09:25am
I have known your grandfather and grandmother for years. We loved them and your grandfather will be looking down and feeling so proud of you. He always sang your praises to us and to his Bridge group!! Good luck and do us proud!!
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Faida Jafri Alikhan Aug 12, 2016 09:30am
Congratulations!!! We are all so proud of you!! Your grandfather Ahsan, will be looking down willing you on, as he was so proud of you and always sang your praises to us and his Bridge group!! We are family, so go girl do Pakistan proud!!
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Riz Aug 12, 2016 09:41am
What it has to do with Sharmeen? Is she a relative of her or why always Sharmeen?
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Dove Aug 12, 2016 10:16am
All the best
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Ak Aug 12, 2016 10:34am
So proud of her! Girls in Pakistan should pursue their passions whatever those are and not let anyone get in their way.
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Ak Aug 12, 2016 10:43am
@Maryam it doesnt matter if they can or not, what matters is that they start trying and dream big. Sometimes we all need a little inspiration, a little push in the back, not just the girl but her parents, her family and even the whole communities around her. Sometimes, stories like these brings everyone together to not only allowing her to pursue her dreams but actually start supporting her in the process.
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ZAFAR Aug 12, 2016 11:03am
She's British, her father is British. She couldn't get into UK team cuz of tough competition, so she just used her pak passport to get easy entry into Olympics through wildcard. Everything mentioned in her wiki.
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Shopman Aug 12, 2016 11:36am
Thank goodness this girl is swimming in proper swimming costume and not some fancy dress. Good Luck to her.
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Adnan Ahmad Aug 14, 2016 01:13pm
she must need to wear hijab before going through swimming competition in Rio olympic
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junaid Aug 15, 2016 08:11pm
Best of Luck!!
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Aamer Aug 16, 2016 01:09pm
i wish she wins
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