CrossFit In The Middle East
THE STORY
Shaikha Al Qassimi is a Red Bull athlete, Lululemon ambassador and competitive CrossFit athlete. And the 27-year-old citizen of United Arab Emirates is smashing age-old gender notions as part of a still-emerging cultural shift.
HOW’D SHE GET STARTED?
“Socially, it was very hard when I first started – it still is at some points – having to explain why I spend so much time in the gym or why I train so hard or so much,” Al Qassimi recently told The National. “This is a passion, a dream. People will always question what they don’t understand.”
HOW POPULAR IS CROSSFIT IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
Very. The past three years has seen incredible growth in the region in CrossFit. Just a simple Google search for affiliates in the UAE alone turns out more than 15 different options.
One of the big reasons for the growth is the annual Dubai Fitness Championship, which has seen the likes of Games athletes Noah Ohlsen and Annie Thorisdottir take home the prize. And it’s sizable purse money as both of last year’s champs won more than $54,000 in the December competition.
The prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh ‘Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum puts on the competition and is reportedly very into functional fitness.
The event does more than bring CrossFit royalty abroad. It also helps foster real change for women in fitness. Al Qassimi is among those gearing up to compete in this competition next month.
SO, IS CROSSFIT HERE THE SAME AS CROSSFIT THERE?
Pretty much. Though there are much more women’s-only fitness classes, which are often created out of demand. It’s not that men and women working out together is against the law, but it is more of a cultural issue.