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Leading Ladies

4 Arab Athletes to Know

Time to make it happen.

We have rounded up some of the prominent Arab female forces in sports today! Run to the slideshow to meet these brave faces that make us proud to be Arab everyday.

Begin Slideshow

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Manal Rostom

Manal Rostom is an Egyptian activist and athlete who makes history happen. Being the first Egyptian to have completed five out of the six world marathon majors, Rustom is always up for the next challenge. She has scaled some of the highest peaks in the world from Mont Blanc to Mount Kilimanjaro, and as of 16th May 2022, she ticked the world’s tallest mountain - Mount Everest - off of her list.

A grueling two months took her to complete the summit. Rustom took to Instagram on a number of occasions during her climb to share glimpses of her intense physical and mental journey. In one Instagram video she had posted, 3 weeks before she completed the climb, she is seen crying and explaining how difficult it was, and can’t give up because she doesn’t want to let anyone down. She also shows a fellow climber who supported her the entire way and captioned the post, “I debated whether to share this dramatic video as I don’t cry on social media but I will cry on Everest."

2 of 4

Sheikha Asma Al Thani

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, and with a slew of Arab women reaching these insane heights and overcoming major physical and mental challenges to reach the top, Sheikha Asma Al Thani is another one who has just made history as the first Qatari woman to scale Mount Everest.

Not only was this a monumental time for the Sheikha, she has also been honored with the GCC Excellence Decoration by HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, Minister of Sports and Youth, in recognition of her contributions to youth work.

Sheikha Asma strives to set an example for young people in her country and beyond by overcoming challenges that may seem impossible and by challenging the cultural and traditional status quo when it comes to gender equality.

3 of 4

Ons Jabeur

Arab tennis player, Ons Jabeur has become the first Arab player to secure a spot at the Grand Slam semi-finals in Wimbledon, following her win against Czech player, Marie Bouzkova in three sets on Tuesday.

The Tunisian tennis champ also won against Marie Bouzkova 3-6, 6-1 and 6-1 and will play Germany’s Tatjana Maria on Thursday. Following the match against Bouzkova, Jabeur, who is ranked 2nd in the world, said in an interview, “I am really, really happy especially that it happened on this court because I have so much love for this court. Hopefully the journey for me will continue. I knew she would make me work to win a point, she is a talented player and I am really happy I woke up in the second set and I played much better in the third set.”

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Sarah Al Qahtani

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is known for many unique sports, but horse racing is perhaps one of its most popular with more and more Saudi women leaving their mark in the field. Enter Sarah Al-Qahtani, the first Saudi woman to become a horse trainer and a showjumper in an otherwise traditionally male-dominated sport.

Al-Qahtani has always loved pet animals such as cats and dogs, but her love for horses began when she was just 5 years old. A daughter to a speed racing coach, she often followed her father to watch him train, a morning routine that ran from 2 AM to 8 AM. In fact, it was her father who persuaded her to pursue a career in the field and, with determination, she passed her training test and would go on to become the first female horse trainer in the Kingdom.