I deliver babies.
I also work in family planning and in fertility.
Women in obstetrics and gynaecology in Egypt
are not very many,
mainly because of social issues where they have to
take care of family.
As a five-year-old, I really just liked the water.
By the age of eight, I was competing in swimming
and also winning the junior events.
I was actually number one in Egypt by the age of 13.
The Golden Fish was my nickname.
Talent just took over in the beginning of my years.
In Barcelona I was one of the young athletes
so I didn't feel the pressure of having to do so well.
You just had to do your best.
From then on, it was one competition
after another.
There were very few
international swimmers for Egypt,
to the point that one time I went to World Cup in Paris.
I didn't find my name in the start list
because they mistaken the name and the time
to be one of the men's cos it was fast for women.
For a sprinter, we need to learn
to pace yourself.
You need to not put all your energy
in the beginning of the race.
Always be prepared for your other career after.
I received many scholarships to come and study
in the United States.
So I had to do pre-med and the biology degree
when I was competing.
It was very nice to see that your education
and your sport don't have to be contradicting each other
and you can do both.
I didn't do well in the '96 Olympics.
I had injuries, I had bad results.
I was very disappointed.
I felt like I can't do it anymore.
But, of course, I gained the stamina
or this endurance or this character
from being an athlete.
Pushing through what you have to do,
being disciplined, being dedicated.
The passion for my sport won me over.
I was dreaming so long about making it to the finals
or the semifinals.
My favourite moment was actually my last race.
Stepping on those blocks for the 50-metre freestyle,
you can hear the crowd as one voice.
But then you have your water
and you don't think about it anymore.
You're just performing it.
Your body automatically knows what to do.
Take your mark.
Your mind is actually racing as well as your body.
It's disappointing to some level,
but I was very happy. I was very proud of myself.
I didn't care about the end of it,
I cared that I reached what I wanted to be in.
The passion that I had as a swimmer,
I think now I have that passion for medicine.
Sometimes I have patients come in and after they're done
they realise that it's me, the swimmer.
The Golden Fish.
It's really nice when they finally find out who I am.
Some of them would name their daughter after me.
It gives you an instant gratification about your job.
There is little Ranias running around.
I'm hoping that this will continue,
Egyptian women competing at high level
in every aspect, not just in sport.
In education, in government positions,
in parliament, in medicine.
I'm actually really happy watching
those who come after me because you feel
like you've been there and you want them to be
even better than you.
I'm mostly proud of being called
an Olympian.