Bilquis and Abdul Razak Dawood Foundation (BARD) supported swimmer Mishael Ayub was selected by the Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF), to compete at the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships held recently in Gwangju. Swimming at a major FINA event is a prerequisite to swimming at the Olympics. Mishael collected a total of 955 FINA points at the event, achieving a personal best time in the highly competitive 100m freestyle with a time of 1:05 seconds. She hopes to improve further on this and other times in the future and credits her coach and her support team, including BARD.
Mishael, whose training and other swimming activities are sponsored by the BARD Foundation, also said there needed to be more sponsorship for sportsmen and women. The BARD Foundation continues to play a significant role in this regard. "Simply the experience of swimming alongside swimmers of the caliber of Sarah Sjostrom, Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky and others is an extremely exciting experience," Mishael Ayub (17), said. "Of course, the Olympics is a dream for every swimmer," said Mishael, adding: "We need a better sporting structure and more resources for swimming if we are to compete at the same levels as those at top."