Abdel Aziz Khalifa

Abdel Aziz Khalifa had prominent careers in both sport and the military. In the former category he was a swimmer and exercised his talents primarily in water polo, representing Egypt in three editions of the Olympic tournament. In 1948 his country placed seventh, while in 1952 and 1960 (officially as the United Arab Republic, a political union of Egypt and Syria) the nation was eliminated in the preliminary round. In London, he was also a member of the 4x200 metres freestyle relay and was eliminated in round one alongside Ali Bagdadi, Ahmed Kandil, and Taha El-Gamal. His greatest international success came at the inaugural 1951 Mediterranean Games, where Egypt took silver in the water polo tournament behind Spain.

In the military realm, Khalifa graduated from the military college and joined the Egyptian Air Force. He became a noted pilot and served with distinction during the 1956 Suez Crisis. After participating in his final Olympics in 1960, he travelled to the Soviet Union to train on Russian fighter jets. On November 14, he was killed during an exercise. His brother Gamal, who was a reserve with the water polo team in 1948, was also killed while serving in the military.