Today’s guest is the youngest athlete I’ve had on the podcast. At just 8 years-old Zarah Ann Gladys was also the youngest competitor at the World Skateboarding Tour 2024 from Arada, which took place earlier this year in Dubai.

The event, which covered both park and street skateboarding disciplines, saw skateboarders from all over the world compete to improve their Olympic World Skate Ranking ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. It was here that I caught up with Zarah - who is India’s highest ranked female skateboarder in the park discipline of the sport, as well as her mom Annie - and her little sister Karen.

In my chat with both Zarah and her mum I learned about the young athlete’s intrinsic motivation for the sport, her very wise philosophy and approach to training and how her family, friends and school are enabling Zarah’s talent to flourish.

🛹 To find Zarah online: @zarah_skater

🛹 To check out the AlJada Skateboard: @aljadaskatepark

🛹 To read more about Zarah from Olympics.com, click HERE

Don’t forget to follow @themettleset and please do leave us a review (five ⭐ only).

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

Hello everyone.

Today’s guest is one of the region’s most prominent sports journalists.

She and I met years ago while I was working in public relations, managing the communications for Yas Marina Circuit for the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and Reem was working as a journalist with Sport 360.

Since that time, Reem’s career has flourished. She is a sports writer, columnist and video journalist for UAE's The National and Saudi Arabia’s Arab News, a tennis contributor to CNN and Eurosport, a contributor to wire agency AFP, as well as other outlets including The Guardian US, BBC News, Dubai Eye 103.8, Al Arabiya, and Wimbledon.com. She regularly interviews some of the world’s and region’s most famous athletes and travels the world to cover a range of sports stories, not just tennis as she clarifies in our chat.

Most recently, Reem became the host and concept creator of the podcast Abtal, a series dedicated to Arab athletes and their journeys to the Paris 2024 Olympics - linked below.

In our chat, we discuss:

🎙️ the state of sports media and why it's important to adapt and learn

🎙️ some of her most memorable moments as a sports journalist including Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur & Maradona just to name a few

🎙️ her new podcast Abtal

🎙️ what advice she’d give aspiring sports journalists

🎙️ who to watch for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris

🎙️ the shift in sports journalism and why that’s a good thing for women’s sports,

🎙️ and what more is needed to really level the playing field when it comes to fair and equal coverage of women athletes.

This is a must-listen for anyone working in women’s sports or anyone with aspirations to do so!

Useful links:

🔗 Reem on Instagram

🔗 Reem’s new podcast Abtal

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

The Mettleset is back, We have an amazing array of guests lined up, and kicking off this new era is a guest who is simply remarkable.

Moroj Adil is Saudi Arabia’s first pro cyclist and you’d be forgiven for not knowing her name yet as she only started cycling two years ago. Yes, that is right, from not knowing how to ride a bike, to being on the Liv Alula Jayco Continental team, her story is one that needs to be heard and what’s most exciting is that it's just getting started.

In this episode, we chat through

• 🚲 How Moroj got started
• 🚲 Her first race
• 🚲 Her first mountain bike race, The Neom Titan Desert Race
• 🚲 The AlUla Tour
• 🚲 The Traka
• 🚲 Joining the Liv AlUla Jayco Continental Team
• 🚲 Her Olympic aspirations

Moroj’s story highlights what’s possible when you don’t put limits on yourself. It’s a story of taking - and making - opportunities, working hard and then letting the magic happen. It’s a story of heart, self-belief and the support you receive along the way.

Find Moroj on Instagram at @moroj.adi

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

This is the fourth episode in a series to commemorate International Women’s Day because for us, every day is International Women’s Day, as we work to help create a more welcoming, equitable and just sports industry for all athletes.

We’ve taken some of the best moments from the 50+ episodes that we’ve recorded to share with you tales of joy, mettle, courage and wisdom from an amazing array of women in sport from across the region.

If you haven’t checked out the first and second in the series, Episode 57, 58 and 59, please go do that HERE and HERE and HERE!

In this episode, you’ll hear stories from:

• 🇴🇲🏔️ EP 48 - Nadhira Al Harthy, the first Omani woman to summit everest
• 🇸🇦🎿 EP 32 - Sharifa Al Sudairi , the first woman on Saudi Arabia’s alpine skiing team
• 🇸🇦🏃🏽‍♀️ EP 46 - Jude Jamjoom - the Co-Founder of Jeddah Tribe, a thriving Tri community in Saudi Arabia
• 🇬🇧🤸🏻‍♀️ EP 23 - Sarah Mercer, a UAE Based Olympic gymnast for team GB who’s Olympic journey to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was far from linear

This episode series is dedicated to the memory of Palestinian Karate Champion, Nagham Abu Samra (1999-2024). For more information on Nagham, please visit the following articles HERE and HERE.

If you've been enjoying our content and finding value in our discussions, please take a quick moment to show your support. Just hit the subscribe button wherever you are listening to us so that you never miss an episode.

Please also leave a review - 5 ⭐ only - and follow @themettleset on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. This really helps us in our commitment to bring you the best possible show and the most interesting guests.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn & Afshan

This is the third episode in a series to commemorate International Women’s Day because for us, every day is International Women’s Day, as we work to help create a more welcoming, equitable and just sports industry for all athletes.

We’ve taken some of the best moments from the 50+ episodes that we’ve recorded to share with you tales of joy, mettle, courage and wisdom from an amazing array of women in sport from across the region.

If you haven’t checked out the first and second in the series, Episode 57 & 58, please go do that HERE and HERE.

In this episode, you’ll hear stories from:

• 🇩🇪 🐪 EP5 - Linda Krockenberger - the UAE’s first female camel jockey trainer
• 🇦🇪 🚴🏽‍♀️ EP28 - Safiya Al Sayegh - the first Emirati woman on the Women’s WorldTour and first Emirati woman set to compete in Cycling at the Summer Olympics
• 🇮🇷 🚵🏽‍♀️ EP20 - Faranak Partoatozar - an Iranian Mountain BIke champion, who recently became the first woman to podium in cycling at the Asian games for Iran
• 🇦🇪 🏋🏽‍♀️ EP3 - Amna Al Haddad - a barrier breaking Emirati powerlifter who’s many accomplishments paved the way for future generations of emirati athletes
• 🇦🇺 🏊🏼‍♀️EP28 - Jessica Smith - a UAE based Australian who uses her experience as a Paraolympian and personal story of to drive home the importance diversity and inclusion

This episode series is dedicated to the memory of Palestinian Karate Champion, Nagham Abu Samra (1999-2024). For more information on Nagham, please visit the following articles HERE and HERE.

If you've been enjoying our content and finding value in our discussions, please take a quick moment to show your support. Just hit the subscribe button wherever you are listening to us so that you never miss an episode.

Please also leave a review - 5 ⭐ only - and follow @themettleset on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. This really helps us in our commitment to bring you the best possible show and the most interesting guests.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn & Afshan

This is the second episode in the Women of Wisdom, a series to commemorate International Women’s Day. For us, every day is International Women’s Day, as we work to help create a more welcoming, equitable and just sports industry for all athletes.

We’ve taken some of the best moments from the 50+ episodes that we’ve recorded to share with you tales of joy, mettle, courage and wisdom from an amazing array of women in sport from across the region.

If you haven’t checked out the first in the series, Episode 57, please go do that HERE.

In this episode, you’ll hear stories from:

• 🇲🇦 EP 45 - Moroccan Golfer, Maha Haddoui, the first Arab women on the Ladies European Tour
• 🇸🇦 EP 15 - Saudi Triathlon Trailblazer, Dina Al Tayeb, the first Saudi National and first Arab woman to complete the Ironman World Championships in Kona
• 🇧🇭 EP 44 - Bahraini Ultra-Runner Fatema Husain, the first Bahraini man or woman to finish UTMB, the world’s toughest ultra race and last but not least
• 🇮🇳 EP 4 - UAE Based Anisha Shetty of India, A two time UAE Muay Thai Champion and three time national Muay Thai champion for India

This episode series is dedicated to the memory of Palestinian Karate Champion, Nagham Abu Samra (1999-2024). For more information on Nagham, please visit the following articles HERE and HERE.

If you've been enjoying our content and finding value in our discussions, please take a quick moment to show your support. Just hit the subscribe button wherever you are listening to us so that you never miss an episode.

Please also leave a review - 5 ⭐ only - and follow @themettleset on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. This really helps us in our commitment to bring you the best possible show and the most interesting guests.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn & Afshan

This is a very special edition of The Mettleset Podcast, the first of a series, with episodes going live daily next week as well.

For us, everyday is International Women’s Day as we work to help create a more welcoming, equitable and just sports industry for all athletes. Since our first episode went live in October 2022, we’ve had the opportunity to speak with an amazing array of wise women in sport - from across the region, and beyond it - who were kind enough to share their stories, their insights and advice and throughout it all, their strength.

In honour of our many guests, we wanted to compile some moments to share with you these stories of mettle, friendship, fun, identity, purpose, new beginnings, and big accomplishments from athletes all across the region.

This episode features:

• EP 19 Guest - Lebanese Mountaineer - Nelly Attar
• EP 10 Guest - Saudi Motorsport Star - Dania Akeel
• EP 2 Guest - UAE-Based Endurance Athlete - Ivana Kolaric
• EP 9 Guest - Afghan Triathlete - Zeinab Rezai
• EP 27 Guest - Guest Emirati Crossfitter Shahad Budebs

This episode series is dedicated to the memory of Palestinian Karate Champion, Nagham Abu Samra (1999-2024). For more information on Nagham, please visit the following articles HERE and HERE.

If you've been enjoying our content and finding value in our discussions, please take a quick moment to show your support. Just hit the subscribe button wherever you are listening to us so that you never miss an episode.

If you've been enjoying our content and finding value in our discussions, please take a quick moment to show your support. Just hit the subscribe button wherever you are listening to us so that you never miss an episode.

Please also leave a review - 5 ⭐ only - and follow @themettleset on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. This really helps us in our commitment to bring you the best possible show and the most interesting guests.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn & Afshan

Today’s episode is a continuation of our discussion on female athlete health with Dr Kate Jordan, a sports and exercise medicine physician at based in Dubai.

The first part of this REWIND episode came out last week, and you can access it directly from here: EP55: Part 1 Female athlete health: Sports and Exercise Medicine doctor Kate Jordan on common injuries, LEA and right fuelling for performance.

In this episode, we go deeper into our discussion on training on your menstrual cycle, hormones, the importance of supplements, and strength and resistance training as we age.

We would like to add that this is a general discussion on athlete health and any information in this podcast is for educational purposes only, and does not intend to substitute a personal consultation with a physician, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any health concerns, please speak to your doctor.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

To know more about Dr. Kate Jordan, visit find her on LinkedIn.

Today’s episode was supported by the awesome and adventurous team at Deep Dive Dubai, the world’s deepest pool. Check them out for some truly awe-inspiring scuba and freedive experiences. Visit www.deepdivedubai.com

For more info, visit www.themettleset.com , and follow us on @themettleset

Dawn