Swimmer Al-Yamani Striving for, Achieving Success Beyond the Block M
12/16/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Features
By Kyler Ludlow
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Whether it has been as a University of Michigan men's swimmer or representing the country of Yemen on the international stage, Mokhtar Al-Yamani always has had lofty goals. While a Wolverine, he helped U-M win a Big Ten Championship; but on the sport's biggest stages, he has been able to accomplish more than medals.
Al-Yamani has spent the last six years competing internationally for Yemen. Whether it be World Championships, the Asian Games or the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Al-Yamani donned the colors of his father's home country with pride and pushed to make swimming in Yemen a more achievable goal for others.
"The thing that drives me most is being able to represent a country that is under-represented, under-supported and, quite frankly, politically unstable right now," said Al-Yamani. "To be able to travel across the world to represent Yemen, that's really special to me. I know it is very tough to support me the way that they have, but I hope that my performances have inspired people."
Yemen had athletes compete at international events in the past, but more as a representation than a true competitor. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the first time that a swimmer from Yemen qualified for the games via time qualifications, and it was extra special for Al-Yamani. Not only were the Olympics a relative home event for the Tokyo native, but it was a chance once again to compete on the national stage with his coach, Mike Bottom.
"Mike had always talked about becoming an international presence," said Al-Yamani. "He always had very high expectations of me, and together I think we were able to dream big. To be able to have achievements and come back with medals and make all of Yemen really proud was such a special moment. Mike went with me at the Arab Games and the Olympics as well, and it's cool to travel the world with a guy whose always supporting you and in your corner."
Mike Bottom (left), Mokhtar Al-Yamani
Bottom, who was scheduled to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics that the United States boycotted, was at his seventh Olympic games as a coach at the 2020 Tokyo games. He has represented the U.S., Croatia, Serbia and now, Yemen. That experience and expertise has led to opportunities at Michigan for generations of Wolverine swimmers, which is something Al-Yamani appreciates.
"Last year, we had Anthony Irvin (three-time Olympic gold medal winner) training with us, which was an incredibly cool experience," said Al-Yamani. "He was one of Mike's first Olympians and he won gold in 2000 and 2016. It's been cool to train in an environment like Michigan's where you're constantly exposed to amazing swimmers. It's the people who have Olympic and international experience who drove me to get there myself."
Even with COVID-19 protocols limiting his ability to visit home, which was only 30 minutes away from the site of the Tokyo Olympics, it was still an experience of a lifetime.
"Ultimately the Olympics are the pinnacle of this sport, they're what everyone dreams about," said Al-Yamani. "And these Olympics were a home games for me, which was super exciting. Despite the postponement and despite the changes that had to be made for COVID to accommodate COVID safety, it was a fantastic games. It was still cool because my dad was able to get involved with the Yemen Olympic Federation this past year and he was able to be at the Olympics, so that was a really amazing experience."
Al-Yamani has officially hung up his goggles now, retiring from competition after this year's Arab Championships held in Abu Dhabi. After winning a bronze medal in the 2018 iteration of the games in Tunisia, Al-Yamani capped off his career with a brilliant performance, winning two golds and a silver medal in his final international event.
"The 2018 Arab Championships was really special to me because my bronze medal was the first international medal that Yemen had ever won in swimming," said Al-Yamani. "To repeat that achievement and actually do even better this year was really cool. I'm really excited to be going out on a high note and moving on to the next chapter of life."
After years spent as a student-athlete at Michigan, Al-Yamani is now ready to take on the role of an engaged alumni and a lifelong Wolverine supporter.
"Even though I'm less connected to who is in the pool now, I really care about this program," said Al-Yamani. "One of the things we really emphasize on the team is that when you represent the block M you're representing years of people that came before you and also representing all the people coming after you.
"We're a part of a really long timeline of amazing athletes. Knowing that there has been so much support provided to me during my time at Michigan and to be able to fall in that timeline and do the same for others means a lot to me."
