Egypt enjoyed a highly successful Mediterranean Games debut in finswimming at Taranto 2026, winning four gold medals as part of a 12-medal haul in the sport.

Tarek Hassan led the Egyptian charge with two golds, while Mohab Ehab and Ahmed Hesham Radwan added one each as Egypt finished its finswimming campaign with four gold, four silver and four bronze medals.

The result placed Egypt third in the finswimming medal standings behind hosts Italy and Greece.

Hassan claimed Egypt’s first gold in the men’s 100m monofin, clocking 34.44 seconds to finish ahead of Greece’s Angelos Kouroumpelis, who took silver in 35.31, and Croatia’s Filip Strikinac, who finished third in 35.82.

Mohab Ehab then won the men’s 400m monofin in 3:01.17, beating Italy’s Lorenzo Carono and France’s Antonin Lebeau to the title.

Ahmed Hesham Radwan added another Egyptian gold in the men’s 200m bi-fins, winning in 1:36.03 ahead of Italy’s Riccardo Borchiani and Turkey’s Can Kaya.

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Hassan completed Egypt’s four-gold haul by winning the men’s 50m underwater event in 14.41 seconds, setting a new Mediterranean Games record.

What is finswimming?

Unlike conventional swimming, finswimming athletes use fins to propel themselves through the water.

In monofin events, both feet are placed inside a single large fin and swimmers use a dolphin-like movement, while bi-fins competitors wear a separate fin on each foot.

The 50m apnea discipline requires athletes to cover the entire distance underwater on a single breath.

Despite being governed by the World Underwater Federation (CMAS), which is recognised by the International Olympic Committee, finswimming is not currently an Olympic sport.

It has been contested at the World Games for decades, but Taranto 2026 marked its first appearance on the core programme of the Mediterranean Games — with Egypt making an immediate impact by collecting four golds and 12 medals overall.