Katya Bachrouche


Katya Bachrouche is a Lebanese-American swimmer who holds the Lebanese record in eight events. Bachrouche, who is a former six-time, state of Michigan champion and an All-American at the University of Virginia, has represented Lebanon in several international events such as, World University Games, Pan Arab Games, and the 2012 Olympic Games held in London.

Early life

Bachrouche was born and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She attended North Farmington High School in Michigan and holds dual citizenship, both American and Lebanese. She is trilingual, speaking English, the Arabic dialect of Lebanon, and Spanish. In her senior year at UVa, she served as a team captain and ranked second in the 500 free, second in the 1650 free, third in the 1000 free and seventh in the 400 IM.

Swimming Honors

Senior Year

Bachrouche finished seventh in the 400-meter freestyle, marking her the first Lebanese to make the finals in that competition.

2011 Pan Arab Games

In the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle and the 200 IM, Bachrouche won four gold medals. Additionally, she won the bronze medals in the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.

2012 Olympic Games

Bachrouche qualified in three events for the Olympics but only participated in one event at the Olympics, the 800 freestyle because she believed she had the best chance to do well due to her best time being 8:44.5, which is well under the Olympic selection time of 8:51.82. She finished in the top 20, placing 19th out of
35 swimmers with a time of 8:35.88, taking nearly 9 seconds off of her personal record while being eliminated in the first round.