CRITICISMS HAVE WANED OVER TIME

Striving to become number one, Amna bin Bahar, 28, was intrigued when she joined Emirates Fitness Championship six years ago and found herself ranking at the 24th place. Since then, she has committed to everything from healthy eating to hiring a trainer to occupy the first place. “What I do is a lot of work. There’s a lot of disappointment every year, a lot of yelling from my instructor every year because I’m not fast enough, but that’s part of it. Hard work pays off when you see your results,” said Bin Bahar, who joined Crossfit six years ago after a history of sports in school. “I never found myself in any sport until I started Crossfit.”

Fast forward to 2017, Bin Bahar finally won the first place in the Emirates Fitness Championship. She gained the title of Fittest Emirati. “My greatest achievement was when I represented the UAE in the 2016 Dubai Fitness Championship and the 2017 Crossfit Games Regionals in Madrid. It was an honour to wear the UAE flag and compete with the fittest athletes in Europe.” She now competes at the Dubai Fitness Championship. While strong athletic build wasn’t usually admired for women in the Middle East, Bin Bahar said these preferences are changing. “Everyone now wants the toned arms and abs. So, such criticism is decreasing over the time.” To encourage younger females into sports, Bin Bahar holds public speaking and engagement events so they also achieve their dreams.

It was an honour to wear the UAE flag and compete with the fittest athletes in Europe.”

Amna bin Bahar, Crossfit athlete