| Ali Al-Hasan | |
| Sport: | Diving |
| Event: | Springboard |
| Collegeteam: | Southern Methodist University |
| Coach: | Jim Stillson (SMU) |
| Birth Date: | 4 January 1973 |
Ali Al-Hasan (born 4 January 1973) is a Kuwaiti diver who dove for Southern Methodist University and competed with the Kuwaiti diving team in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[1]
Al-Hasan attended and dove for Southern Methodist University where he majored in biomedical engineering. At SMU he swam for long-serving Coach Jim Stillson, an All American diver for Ohio State University, and a former diving coach for Columbia University.
An accomplished diver for SMU, at the Southwestern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in March, 1995, Al-Hasan edged out rival University of Texas diver Sam Arieff in close competition, winning the 1-meter diving event. He placed third in diving in the Southwestern Conference Championship that year, helping to lead SMU to a second place overall against strong rival University of Texas.[2] [3] At the March 1997, Western Athletic Conference Championships, Al-Hasan won the 1-meter springboard competition, with a 580.8 total.[4]
At the Reveille Invitational, a regional meet in Texas in November 1995, he placed first in the diving competition with 484.7 points, leading SMU to win the meet.[5] At the March 1996, Zone D Championships in Fort Worth, Ali-Hasan placed third in the three-meter diving final.[6] In his Senior year at SMU, he placed first in 3-meter diving in a dual meet with Rice University in January, 1995, leading SMU to a dual meet win.[7] At the January, 1995 All American Diving Finals in Austin, Texas, Al-Hasan placed 22, a respectable finish for a nation-wide meet of outstanding divers.[8]
He was a member of the Kuwaiti Diving Team. During the Persian Gulf War around 1990-91, he was imprisoned in Iraq for two weeks, but his training with the Kuwaiti team was interrupted for close to a year. After his release from prison, he looked forward to swimming for Kuwait in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[9] [10]
In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Al-Hasan placed 33rd in men's springboard.[11]