Kuwaiti women lifting weights competitively, breaking social norms

By Fahad Al-Enizi KUWAIT, Nov 14 (KUNA) -- Kuwaiti women had broken yet another social "glass ceiling" by entering the world of weightlifting, competing successfully in various tournaments both here and abroad.
The Kuwaiti women weightlifting federation, established last September, managed to take its team of 24 athletes to several international tournaments in a step declaring that Kuwaiti women weightlifters were ready and able to compete.
Speaking to KUNA on their experiences, several women athletes displayed enthusiasm and willingness to conquer their respective sport.
Tefool Hassan, an under 49-kilogram competitor, revealed that she came to the sport after being introduced to CrossFit some years ago.
She indicated that CrossFit included weightlifting routines, a matter that helped her to transition smoothly to weightlifting.
Hassan affirmed that the more weight she lifted the further she wanted to improve under the guide of her coaches and encouragement of teammates.
She added that she was looking forward to the Arab tournament in Tunisia this December and the GCC championship in January.
Providing similar statements, Nour Al-Awadhi -- an under 64 kilograms weightlifter -- said that Kuwaiti society had become more accepting of the idea of female weightlifters.
On the historical record of women weightlifting, Al-Awadhi said that women had to wait until the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia to compete in the sport while their male counterparts were competing since 1896.
Al-Awadhi indicated that Kuwaiti women were eager to represent the country in global tournaments, stressing that their performance will improve with support and encouragement from the federation, families, and society.
Under 71 kilograms competitor, Dalal Al-Shatti pointed out that she had to go through several sports before settling on weightlifting.
Sports in general should be available to all with no gender, age, or abilities restrictions, she affirmed.
Delivering statements on part of the Kuwaiti weightlifting federation, chairman Talal Al-Jassar said that forming a women team was a historical step for Kuwaiti sports, affirming that the step was in compliance with international regulations.
In the forthcoming period, Kuwaiti women weightlifting will be pushed forward with training camps and international participations to hone the athletes' skills and improve their competitive spirit both mentally and physically.
On the technical level, Coach Hussain Saeed said that the team members were displaying a progressive level comment to the sport.
He predicted that women weightlifters in Kuwait were developing rapidly, citing the first women weightlifting competition back in October as evident of such claim. (end) fsa.gta