Sports today is not only a hobby or passion, but a viable professional career choice for a lot of people. So many out there are known for their incredible talent, agility, and determination to succeed in their particular sport of choice.
Marwa Al Wadhahi and Mohammed AlHabsi are two such athletes who have stirred up waves of success through their passion and hard work, making the country proud every step of the way. With several awards and accolades under their belt and a story of their own to tell, we were able to catch up with these incredible athletes and bring it to you right here!
Marwa Al Wadhahi is an athlete and weightlifter in the Omani Weightlifting National Team. From a young age, Marwa has always loved being active. “I enjoyed participating and competing in sports while I was in school, never missed the annual sports day when I was in University, and I made sure to stay active when I started working after graduation,” says Marwa. In 2016, she joined CrossFit, a sport that kickstarted her weightlifting career. Her journey from a regular weightlifter to one on the Omani National team was a result of her sheer desire as an athlete to be “better, fitter, and stronger.” She believes the best way to improve is to seek help from experts and that is exactly what she did, taking her sporting career to some truly great heights.
Some of Marwa’s achievements include:
Being the first Omani Woman to,
- Compete Oman in Spartan World Championship in the USA (2017)
- Join the Weightlifting National team and also became first female Omani weightlifting Judge (2019)
- Take on an Ironman70.3 race (2020)
She was also the second Omani female finisher in gruesome 50km UTMB Race on the Hajar Mountains. And the owner of 6 silver medals in her first weightlifting competition (Gulf & West Asia).
Mohammed AlHabsi, on the other hand, belongs to a family that has a keen interest in fishing. It was due to this interest that he first learnt how to swim. It was the constant support from his family and his mother’s encouragement and belief in his abilities that eventually inspired him to pursue swimming at a higher level. At present, Mohammed AlHabsi is part of the National Swimming Team in Oman. “When you compete in major sports, there’s an inner feeling of love for the sport, for learning, and for competing,” says Mohammed.
Mohammed has many achievements, some of which include:
- Gold Medal in GCC swimming Championship (2009 – 2015)
- Silver Medal in Arab Championship in 2014
- Best Swimmer Long Distance GCC (2014 -2015)
Mohammed also has a number of professional certificates from different countries such as the Olympic Games certificate from Beijing, or the Asian Beach Games certificate from Thailand and Vietnam, and many more. He has also been a professional coach for various teams, including the Omani National Team.
As an athlete, there are many challenges one can face. Balancing between work, training, and personal life, is not easy. Mohammed explains, “Being preoccupied with personal and professional commitments makes me very anxious. A daily routine includes morning exercise, work, training, more exercise, and family time. Sometimes, this can cause severe insomnia, but relaxation techniques and yoga can help calm your mind and body.”
Marwa who also has a similar routine and believes in “setting priorities and committing to them.” As a full-time employee and an elite athlete, Marwaa tell us the importance of planning and prioritising. She keeps her work within working hours, followed by training. She uses the weekends to indulge in socialising and any other activities that she may want to do. She says, “Know what is important to you, prioritise accordingly and plan, then commit to making it happen.”
Apart from maintaining a balanced life, professional sport comes with other demanding aspects. As a swimmer, Mohammed’s biggest challenge is “diet and nutrition.” Professional swimming heavily depends on the weight of the swimmer and how a swimmer’s body behaves in water. Marwa, on the other hand, explained that professional sport can induce both mental and social pressures on a sportsperson. She says, “Some goals require a lot of commitment & discipline which might bring on social pressure and people might not understand you, dealing with that can be challenging.” On mental pressures, she added, “It’s normal for athletes to have bad days and weaknesses. Training on those days without letting frustration get you, staying disciplined, not giving up, believing in what you are doing, believing in your abilities, and keeping a positive mind can also get challenging sometimes.”
The key to a successful athletic career is training. Like the saying goes “practice makes perfect” but sometimes practice can feel monotonous, tiring, and painful. However, none of this stops our two athletes from training regularly. For Marwa and Mohammed, all it takes is love and passion for their chosen sports. “It’s all to do with the passion and dedication to achieve the goals I have set in my mind. I believe that I first need to set a goal, and then I know it can only be achieved through my hard work and I strive to make it a reality,” says Mohammed. Marwa tells us, “I love sports and naturally look forward to it. It has been a part of me for a very long time. I am driven by my goals. I am motivated through the progress and growth I see, seeing results makes me not want to stop at all! I strive for more and more!”
The current situation has been difficult for everyone. With COVID on the horizon, sport activities have all been limited to contain the spread of the virus and ensure the safety of everyone involved. For elite athletes like Mohammed and Marwa, who need to train rigorously, this situation is a little discouraging. Marwa tells us, “When we were on lockdown and gyms were closed, I continued training at home. I was extremely limited with equipment, but I still managed to adjust and make gains. At times, I got bored, lost my motivation, and was emotionally unstable, because of the uncertainty of this unusual situation.” Marwa was not alone, Mohammed also faced a similar setback. “As a result of COVID, I was unable to go to pool to train, which, being a swimmer, is extremely important.” Despite this challenge, both have developed their own ways of coping without sacrificing their training. Mohammed compensated with cardio exercises at home, while Marwa would workout online with her friends until the gym was open again.
Additionally, COVID has also put most, if not all, professional competitions, and tournaments on standstill, and also demands extreme care and caution on the part of trainers and trainees to avoid the risk of the virus. “Unfortunately, due to the current situation, the weightlifting competitions I look forward to have not been announced yet and were cancelled last year. So, I haven’t competed for almost a year now and I don’t know when I will again,” says Marwa. “However, weightlifting is an individual sport where everyone trains individually on their own platforms with bar and weights. All equipment is sanitised before and after training, and we follow the ministry guidelines,” she added. Mohammed on the other hand is training for “a unique long distance swimming tournament of approximately 20km. This is a personal challenge and not a championship,” he says.
With the past year being difficult for everyone, but 2021 will hopefully be a year of improvement for these athletes. The whole world has been overturned by the virus and sports in particular experienced a massive downfall. Our athletes are hopeful, that the year ahead will be different. While Marwa is looking forward to competing again and watching the Olympic Games being held in Tokyo this year, Mohammed is looking forward to making it through this year in full spirit. He tells us, “We as sportspersons are one family. How we make it through 2021 and maintain our standards and sportsman’s spirit together as one team is something, I’m really looking forward to experiencing.”