WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH
EN GARDE
IMAGE: SUPPLIED
Aspiring Olympic fencer and the first Emirati woman to finish the Ironman, Asma Al Janahi on breaking the mold in the sporting world The first Emirati woman to finish the Ironman 70.3 x5 times, complete x3 Ironman Middle East races in a single season and win first place among UAE Nationals at the Abu Dhabi World Triathlon 2019, Asma Al Janahi is on a winning streak. What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? My day usually starts early around 5am, before sunrise. I wake up and do the morning prayer “al fajr”. Then I’ll have a quick snack before I head to my daily training around 6am. What led you to the world of competing and what made you decide to enter Ironman? I have always been passionate about sports and tried many different types as a child. Initially, I started off as a cyclist, before I got into the world of triathlon. It was initially a
case of curiosity to try and complete a triathlon, which is quite different to cycling. However, when I tried it once, I got completely addicted to the sport. You’re the first Emirati woman to complete the Ironman 70.3 five times – how did that feel and how did you prepare your mindset for that race? Participating in any phase of Ironman is a long journey with many ups and downs. Personally, I’m very much a goal-oriented person; my journey was never easy and it took immense amounts of hard work both mentally and physically. The first important thing for me was to educate myself about this discipline and do things gradually, under the supervision of experts and coaches. How did it feel to be approached as ASICS brand ambassador in the region? I am hon-
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oured to represent ASICS in the community and am the first Emirati woman to do so in the region. As part of the ASICS FrontRunner community, I have met fantastic fellow athletes and passionate runners. Being an ASICS FrontRunner allows me to amplify my message to inspire people within the community to move and take up any sport. At ASICS, we believe passionately in the benefits of movement and adopt a ‘Sound Mind Sound Body’ approach. You don’t have to be a triathlete to benefit from movement. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced and how did you overcome them? A few of my challenges included learning how to swim and learning how to run properly. I only learned how to swim after my first race. The fear of open water was very challenging to overcome and I conquered it by putting myself into the situation that scared me, and I failed many times before I made it. The triathlon is a very individual and specific sport, so mental toughness is very important. I had to learn how to be a friend to myself and not to depend on anyone with my training, while being fully committed to what I wanted to achieve in the long run. Who have been your mentors to date and what advice has been most important? I am very lucky to be surrounded by a community of absolutely great people. This has allowed me to learn from several of my fellow athletes and coaches. There are several mentors, to name a few, it would be coach Sara-Lise Harris and Jan Gremmen who is my triathlon coach, and of course all my fellow athletes from TriBelles UAE, which is the UAE’s first female specific triathlon community. What piece of advice would you give to your younger self? Don’t be hesitant – just try things until you discover yourself. This is ‘The Renegade Issue’ – who according to you is going against the grain in their field and achieving something great? There are people who are courageous enough to do things differently and who live according to their own rules. Those are the individuals who stand out and achieve great things. As an athlete, I think of Rafael Nadal. He has developed his very own way of playing when no one believed in it and with that he became one of the greatest players in tennis history. My personal role model in UAE is HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He showed the world that a small city like Dubai could stand out and be a global icon through ambition and hard work. A renegade to me is someone who’s doing things in a different way that is creative, innovative and enhancing. In my life, I’m surrounded by several people who constantly discover new ways to doing things differently and follow their passion. They inspire me to forge my own path on a daily basis.
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