Khalid Yahya Rushaka (born April 26, 1980) was the first Tanzanian to participate in the Olympics as a swimmer. His countrymen know Rushaka as the "Tanzanian Dolphin," for his legendary abilities in the water. "The remarkable story of how he learnt to swim and rose to fame is legendary. His father, Yahya Rushaka, was one of the sole survivors of the Mv Bukoba ferry disaster on Lake Victoria in 1996 that claimed a thousand lives. It was his father who encouraged Khalid to learn to swim from the stories he used to tell of the brave men who saved many lives because they could swim. His father inspired him to pursue a career in swimming. Rushaka coached himself with the help of youtube videos. He progressed quickly through the ranks and the Tanzianian Olympic Committee chose him to represent the nation. He specialized in sprint freestyle events. Rushaka represented Tanzania at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed for the men's 50 m freestyle. He finished third in the third heat by forty-five hundredths of a second (0.45) ahead of 13-year-old Seychellois swimmer Dwayne Didon, with a time of 28.50 seconds. Rushaka, however, failed to advance into the semi-finals by 6.37 seconds.