Amna Al Haddad

Last updated
Amna Al Haddad
ASP2164.jpg
Born (1989-10-21) October 21, 1989 (age 34)
Years active2007-present
Height5 ft 2 in (157 cm)

Amna Al Haddad (born 21 Oct 1989) is a female weightlifting athlete and former journalist from the United Arab Emirates. [1] [2] [3]

Weight Lifting Career

Amna Al Haddad was born on October 21, 1989, in Dubai. [1] [4] She started her weightlifting career in 2007 at the age of 19. [5] [6] Her first competitive entrance was in October 2011. Since then she has competed in a number of international competitions. She then became the first Emirati female to compete in the Reebok Crossfit Games Open (February 22 – March 25, 2012) and was ranked 77th out of 170 women in Asia.

Later in May 2012, she joined the Asia Regionals Crossfit Team in Korea. She made history by being the first Emirati and GCC national to compete in the Asia Regionals and the only Muslim woman to do so in a headscarf and a unitard. [7] [8]

She then embarked on Olympic Weightlifting in 2013, in a bid to represent her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She competed at the Arnold Sports Festival for three years consecutively and competed in Europe as well.

In April 2015, she competed at the IWF Asian interclub championship and won 6 gold medals and 3 silver in the Arab, West-Asian, and Asian categories as a -63 kg, representing the UAE. [9]

Amna was the first Arab female athlete to signal off We Run Dubai, Nike's 10K race in 2015. [10]

Amna sometimes trains in the ritzy Jumeirah neighborhood of Dubai, in a gym housed inside a villa. She trains in a headscarf, fully covered in leggings and compression sleeves. [11]

In 2016, she expressed her hope that her achievements would be an inspiration for other Emirati women. [12] While she was not selected to represent her country in weightlifting at the Rio Olympics, she continues to participate in the sport. [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 "UAE female weightlifter Al Haddad aiming for Rio 2016". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  2. "Emirati weightlifting champion Amna Al Haddad, an inspiration for Arab women". Naseba. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  3. "The story of the pioneering UAE weightlifter who helped develop the Nike Pro Hijab". Arab News. 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  4. "Timeline". Amna Al Haddad. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  5. Amin, ByBahira. "Depression to Dumbbells: This Female Emirati Weightlifting Champion is Literally Changing the Game". SceneArabia. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  6. Q42, Fabrique &. "Q&A with Amna Al Haddad". Design Museum. Retrieved 2021-08-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. "999Fitness » About Me". 999fitness.ae. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  8. "Raising The Bar: Nike Features Emirati Weightlifter, Amna Al Haddad – The Voix" . Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  9. Amin, ByBahira. "Depression to Dumbbells: This Female Emirati Weightlifting Champion is Literally Changing the Game". SceneArabia. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  10. "Emirati weightlifting champion Amna Al Haddad, an inspiration for Arab women". Naseba. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  11. Leigh, Karen (24 October 2012). "Amid Glares, Female Weight Lifters Compete". The New York Times.
  12. "UAE weightlifter Amna Al Haddad hopes to make Olympic dream a reality". 7DAYS UAE. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  13. Paul, Ajanta (2016-06-30). "Emirati weightlifter Aisha Al Balushi qualifies for Rio Olympics". Emirates 24|7. Retrieved 2017-03-14.