In 2019, Sana’a Mandar became the first woman to represent Morocco at the CrossFit Games.
“The feeling of accomplishment and pride to be the first woman to represent my country in such a prestigious competition…I (was) so proud to represent my country,” she said of what she was feeling as she walked in the Opening Ceremonies.
For Mandar, just getting to Madison was an accomplishment. She received her visa just in time to travel to the United States to compete.
This summer, Mandar will be returning to compete in Madison, Wisconsin for her second consecutive CrossFit Games experience. She qualified during the 2020 CrossFit Open when she became Morocco’s national champion, an accomplishment she has achieved for the last three years.
Heading into the Games this summer, Mandar has one major goal: To place higher this summer than her 107th place finish last year.
While that’s her competition goal, the 31-year-old Mandar has an even larger big picture goal: To inspire other women from her country to stand up and be strong and independent.
“Our society remains dominated by men, and the role of the woman is often framed by men since birth. I have been very lucky to be raised and to share my life with open-minded people, who strongly believe in equality between men and women. It’s not a common thing to meet and accept women like me in a society dominated by men, but I fortunately have a husband and father who support me,” Mandar said.
She added: “I made my choice to go against this mentality because I wanted to show to all women who suffer from discrimination that we cannot give up.”
Mandar comes by her interest in sport and fitness honestly. Her father used to run marathons, while her sister was a gymnast and her brother competed in bodybuilding.
On top of being a full-time athlete, who trains for two-and-a-half hours each morning and returns to the gym for an afternoon session, she is also a full-time wife and mother to a 4-year-old daughter, who is already into judo, gymnastics, and dancing. Though she’s busy, Mandar is used to the demands of being a high level athlete.
Prior to CrossFit, she was big into martial arts, specifically SAMBO, a soviet martial art. SAMBO is an acronym that translates to self-defense without weapons.
In fact, Mandar was the 2018 African SAMBRO champion in the 68 kg division. She also competed in both judo and wrestling.
When asked why she loves competing, she explained: “(I love) waking up every day with one goal: The be a better version of yourself following a disciplined and rigorous process to improve and get out of your comfort zone,” she said.
Mandar will have plenty of opportunity to get out of her comfort zone this summer in Madison when she goes head-to-head with the fittest women on earth, proudly representing women from her country in the process.
Images courtesy @mourad_belasrya
