Omar Nour

Omar Nour is an Egyptian professional triathlete competing in on the International Triathlon Union (ITU) circuit.

Early life and family

Born in Cairo, Egypt, on December 9, 1978, Omar and his immediate and extended family were based in Cairo, as well as other parts of the country. At the age of three, he moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, where Omar and his brother were enrolled in boarding schools. They gained multi-linguistic abilities with international upbringing. Omar became fluent in Arabic, French and English, and conversational in German. However, Omar said he never lost sight of his Arabic heritage and culture, because of the emphasis and reinforcement of their traditions by his mother.

In 1992, his family moved to the United States, where Omar continued his education. Upon graduation from high school, he enrolled in The Johns Hopkins University, with a triple-major in French, Near Eastern Studies and Biology, with a pre-medical concentration. After graduation from Hopkins, Omar, who was once bound for medical school, apparently shifted his focus and entered the business world, starting and growing various small business ventures. It was a familial venture, that permanently removed Omar from the medical track. In 2006, Nour and his brother Diaa formed a telecommunications firm, Tot Solutions,^[1] Soon, his plans for medical school were deferred, and he found himself working 120-hour weeks in furtherance of their now thriving entrepreneurial endeavor.

Career

According to Nour, it was on a dare from a friend, that he entered a local triathlon in 2007 (the Nations Triathlon in Washington, DC) and he fell in love with the challenging three-sport format. Nour had raced well enough to earn Elite status as a triathlete. After talks with the Egyptian Triathlon Federation (ETF), Nour entered his first full pro season in 2010, racing under the flag of Egypt. With the goal of qualifying and competing in the Olympics as the first Egyptian pro triathlete in history, he set about on an ITU schedule, racing at diverse venues all over the world. Nour found mixed results and a completely different level of racing, than he did within the age group ranks. Without a youth swimming background, he did not fare well in the short, fast, swim format of ITU style racing and consequently struggled early on in 2010.

Coming from a multilingual family helped the Egyptian adapt, at least socially, to the various race venues during his first year on the pro circuit. Deeply rooted in his MENA, Arabic heritage, Omar fluidly flips languages and converses with French cameramen at races, or cracks jokes in German with his deutsche competitors. This personality resonated with fans and media with Nour seemingly focusing on developing his media profile via television,^[2] internet,^[3] magazines and newspapers.^[4]

References