“I suppose I might be useful greeting people at the airport or helping people find their way around the facility,” she said. “I’m sure they’ll think of a place where I can be most useful.”

Joanne, who works for the Dubai government, said she learned a few languages at school and the rest she just “kind of picked up”.

“It depends what you mean by fluent,” she said. “Some languages I am totally fluent in but if you want complicated legal documents translated, for example, then I couldn’t do that in 14 languages, but I can converse well enough. “Living in Dubai has helped me because you are surrounded by so many different nationalities and languages.”

Meanwhile, Bahraini volunteer, Hisham Shehab, may not speak 14 languages but his English is perfect and he holds the added distinction of being a Pan Arab Games 50m freestyle silver medallist.

Hisham, an Olympian who swam the 100m freestyle for his country at the 2004 Athens Games, also took part in a recent test event at the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rahsid Sports Complex.

“After the Olympics I stopped swimming competitively and went to university,” said the 23-year-old. “When I heard that Dubai was hosting 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) it was too good an opportunity to miss. You don’t often get an event of this kind so close to where you live. For me, travelling to Dubai to be a part of the Championships was a no-brainer.

“I’ve been lucky enough to get the chance to swim at the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex and it’s a very impressive venue. It’s a great facility for Dubai to have for future generations of swimmers.”

Championships Vice-Director Dr Khalid Al Zahed said the contributions that people like Joanne and Hisham make to the event were invaluable.

“The involvement of people both from Dubai and from further afield demonstrates just how inclusive this landmark event really is,” he said. “There will be more athletes in Dubai than at any other FINA short course world championships in history and although much of the attention focuses on the athletes, without the volunteers there would be no Championships at all.

“Joanne and Hisham are good examples of the fact that we have recruited people with lots of different talents in order to put on a well-organised, fun and family-friendly event that can be enjoyed by spectators, athletes and media, and also by the volunteers themselves.”