DUBAI // The UAE boasts the second highest number of male athletes to have qualified for the forthcoming Asian CrossFit regionals – beaten only by the host country South Korea.
And out of eight UAE residents who qualified, four of them are Emiratis, proving the sport’s ever-growing popularity among UAE nationals.
CrossFit is an intensive exercise programme involving a combination of functional movements, endurance training and Olympic weightlifting.
The Emirati qualifiers include Saud Saif Al Shamsi, who owns the Dunes CrossFit gym in Dubai.
To prepare for next month’s tournament, the 23-year-old has stuck to a strict regime of two or more workouts a day at least five times a week.
Even with his training and conditioning programme, Al Shamsi very nearly did not make it to the Asian regionals because of a broken finger. Now, he’s hoping for at least a top-20 finish.
He said he was proud to see so many Emiratis taking part.
“I’m really happy that we did this and actually I feel like we are representing all the Arabs, we’re all cousins and one family. We all have one aim – to prove ourselves as Arabs in the fitness field,” he said.
Emirati Mahmoud Shalan, the first CrossFit athlete sponsored by Red Bull, qualified for the regional finals last year but has been injured this year.
He says the rise of Emirati qualifiers this year has been marked by a reality check.
“People are starting to realise that it’s not like a comic book. The guys in the US work for it and we used to look at them like idols. But now, people are putting in the work and seeing it’s actually doable,” he said. “I’ve never seen guys approach it to this extent. There’s a sense of urgency as they realise it’s a sport with a short lifespan. It’s getting so competitive.”
Last year six men and one woman of various nationalities made it to the regionals from the UAE.
Briton Marcus Smith, 35, is one of the originators of CrossFit in the UAE. He has taken part in the CrossFit regionals since the first event in 2011 but declined a place this year. “CrossFit has obviously exploded in the UAE this last year with all the new boxes [facilities] opening, not least among the Emirati community,” he said.
“The explosion of CrossFit is not just localised, it is global. You go to any city in the world now and you will probably find a CrossFit gym because this stuff is fun.
“Within the UAE we have also seen a big drive from the Dubai Fitness Competition which seems to be raising the awareness of fitness and specifically CrossFit in the country and getting more people active which is a great thing.”
Smith, founder of sports company InnerFight, says the Emirati talent which has made it through this year bodes well for the UAE’s athletic future.
Four of this year’s UAE finalists trained at CrossFit Metalize, including Emirati Marwan Al Marri.
The gym’s owner, Abdulrahman Al Ali, agreed that CrossFit was growing in the UAE.
He said he was proud that his gym had helped produce such excellent athletes.
The other two UAE nationals who qualified to the regionals are Abdulrahman Al Ghobash and Rashed Al Mulla.
All four Emirati athletes have been sponsored by Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid, chairman of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
