GADA SHAIKLI
40, Iraqi, athlete and personal trainer
“A few months before my 40th birthday, my eldest son went off to college and I thought, ‘What do I have to show for myself?’ I’d been working in HR, day in, day out, and then stopped working altogether when I moved to Dubai. I was always a very competitive person but growing up in a conservative Middle Eastern family I wasn’t given the opportunity to follow my dreams. So a year and a half ago, I decided to become a trainer and started competing in races. I’ve won 30 medals since my last birthday. I feel like my two biggest challenges when I started – my age and my gender – turned out to be the things that have earned me the most recognition. People made fun of me at the beginning, telling me that it was a man’s sport and that I was a mum so I should act like one. I just stuck to my instincts and now I’m inspiring women my age, who at 40 feel like they’re forgotten. To them, I say that’s nonsense. Age doesn’t matter. If you set your mind to it, you can do anything. I’m beating 20-year-olds in my races. I’m beating men half my age.”