An Emirati Sprinter Is One Of The World’s Most Successful Special Olympics Athletes

Avatar

Take a bow Hamda Al Hosani!

The 29-year-old sprinter took home the gold meal in the 100 metre race at the Special Olympics IX MENA Games 2018.

The hugely successful sportswoman has taken home 17 international medals in total and his victories this week make her one of the world’s most successful Special Olympics athletes.

This follows a second place medal in the 200m race already this week. She’s also facing a 4x100m meter relay race on Tuesday, at the Abu Dhabi event which is hosting 1,000 athletes from 32 countries.

Hamda is a favourite for the up and coming Special Olympic World Games in 2019 which also takes place in Abu Dhabi

She trains two hours a day with the support of her mother who is always by her side, and who Hamda credits for helping her discover her talent. She hopes the Games change the negative perception of intellectual disabilities.

What an incredible achievement!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Special Olympics WG AD 2019 (@worldgamesad) on Mar 19, 2018 at 6:21am PDT

“I’d like to encourage everyone with intellectual disabilities (ID) to look out for what they’re interested in and to do more activities that boost their confidence. I have a friend who played on the basketball team and I encouraged her to join the sprinting team.

In the Middle East people look at ID as a bad thing but I want to change that negative perception.”

Hamda Al Hosani

Hamda’s mother Zaafaran also had some encouraging words for any parents of children with ID

“My message to every parent with a kid with ID is to take part in Special Olympics. There’s usually parents’ meetings and get togethers where I notice a few parents. Kids with ID really need their parents’ support in order to succeed,” 

Zaafaran Al Hosani

HH Sheikh Hamdan dropped into the event

Shopping
See more
More like this

Support Lovin

Loyal Lovin readers can support Lovin so we can continue to share the stories of all amazing cities

Minimum custom amount to enter is AED 2

By donating, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service