Saudi Arabia
Related News
Taekwondo trailblazer Dunya Abutaleb becomes first Saudi Arabian woman to qualify for Paris 2024 Olympics
Saudi Olympic Committee
LAUSANNE, March 24, 2024 - In a groundbreaking moment for Saudi Arabian Olympic history, Dunya Ali Abutaleb, has secured her spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in taekwondo, competing in the 49 weight category. The 28-year-old’s achievement came after a distinguished performance at the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Paris 2024 Games held last week in Tai'an - China. Abutaleb has shattered barriers, paving the way for female athletes in her country.
BEGINNINGS Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, when she was 12, her brother’s coach discovered her passion for taekwondo at a young age and began teaching her privately at her home. Despite the challenges, lack of female gyms, and societal norms that often deterred female participation in sports, she continued to do taekwondo, even if that meant training with and against male colleagues. Before, she was training with Team Saudi as its first female player, her sparring partners were all males.
FEMALE POWER Fast forward to today, Dunya stands as a beacon of inspiration, from her humble beginnings training alongside male colleagues to her current role as a vital member of the female Saudi taekwondo national team, Dunya's journey embodies the essence of female power.
ROAD TO PARIS 2024 As she gears up to represent her nation on the grand stage of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Dunya Abutaleb’s journey serves as a powerful reminder that passion knows no bounds and that females are just as capable as any other, even the most daunting challenges can be broken.
FIRST WORLD MEDAL In the heat of the semi-finals at the Guadalajara 2022 World Taekwondo Championships, Dunya Abutaleb's fierce determination was on full display. Despite facing a knockout blow, her immediate plea to her coach, "Let me back into the fight!" With the referee having stopped play, that was not possible.
Abutaleb's journey to the finals of the under 49kg class at the Centro Acuatico CODE Metropolitano earned her a well-deserved bronze medal - a historic achievement marking her as the first Saudi Arabian female medalist at a World Taekwondo Championships 2022.
FIRST IMPACT Before this remarkable feat followed her groundbreaking performance in June 2022, she secured a bronze at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Chuncheon, Korea early 2022. The earlier medal electrified Saudi Arabia and ignited a seismic shift in the kingdom for female Taekwondo. That shift, accelerated further spotlight on females in martial artists through her World Championships medal.
The significance of Abutaleb's qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics cannot be understated. As the first Saudi female athlete to achieve this feat, she became an ambassador of empowerment and possibility for aspiring athletes across the nation, to follow her footsteps in Paris.
The inaugural gender-equal Olympic Games Paris 2024, will be hosted in the vibrant French capital from July 26, 2024, to August 11, 2024.
BEGINNINGS Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, when she was 12, her brother’s coach discovered her passion for taekwondo at a young age and began teaching her privately at her home. Despite the challenges, lack of female gyms, and societal norms that often deterred female participation in sports, she continued to do taekwondo, even if that meant training with and against male colleagues. Before, she was training with Team Saudi as its first female player, her sparring partners were all males.
FEMALE POWER Fast forward to today, Dunya stands as a beacon of inspiration, from her humble beginnings training alongside male colleagues to her current role as a vital member of the female Saudi taekwondo national team, Dunya's journey embodies the essence of female power.
ROAD TO PARIS 2024 As she gears up to represent her nation on the grand stage of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Dunya Abutaleb’s journey serves as a powerful reminder that passion knows no bounds and that females are just as capable as any other, even the most daunting challenges can be broken.
FIRST WORLD MEDAL In the heat of the semi-finals at the Guadalajara 2022 World Taekwondo Championships, Dunya Abutaleb's fierce determination was on full display. Despite facing a knockout blow, her immediate plea to her coach, "Let me back into the fight!" With the referee having stopped play, that was not possible.
Abutaleb's journey to the finals of the under 49kg class at the Centro Acuatico CODE Metropolitano earned her a well-deserved bronze medal - a historic achievement marking her as the first Saudi Arabian female medalist at a World Taekwondo Championships 2022.
FIRST IMPACT Before this remarkable feat followed her groundbreaking performance in June 2022, she secured a bronze at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Chuncheon, Korea early 2022. The earlier medal electrified Saudi Arabia and ignited a seismic shift in the kingdom for female Taekwondo. That shift, accelerated further spotlight on females in martial artists through her World Championships medal.
The significance of Abutaleb's qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics cannot be understated. As the first Saudi female athlete to achieve this feat, she became an ambassador of empowerment and possibility for aspiring athletes across the nation, to follow her footsteps in Paris.
The inaugural gender-equal Olympic Games Paris 2024, will be hosted in the vibrant French capital from July 26, 2024, to August 11, 2024.
News from the same category
Video gallery
Let's Talk to the IOC Presidential Candidates
Let's Talk to IOC Presidential Candidate Lord Sebastian Coe
