Two Saudi athletes — a Formula E motor racer and a fencer — who achieved varying degrees of successes in their disciplines are giving back to the people their experiences in what drove them to excel in their fields. They relayed their stories in The Olympic Committee's YouTube channel, which presented a session with female athletes Reem Al-Aboud and Hasnaa Al-Hammad in which they talked about their distinguished sports experiences. All shared their trailblazing efforts in forging their careers and stressed on the amount of hard work and determination needed to overcome difficulties and obstacles they hurdled prior to writing their success stories. Reem Al-Aboud said that her passion for motor racing started from a young age. This affinity was due to the great love her father held for cars, which made her relate to this world and soon got interested in all its details. She said the beginning was very difficult, as she needed to be schooled in the rudiments of the sport despite her great interest in motor racing. She said that she was not aware that drivers needed high fitness levels and quick reflexes to dominate this sport. She pointed out that her Formula E story started in the women's auditions round when the Kingdom organized the race for the first time, where she underwent several tests and went through several stages before she registered her name as the first Saudi contestant to participate in Formula E races. As for Hasnaa Al-Hammad, she indicated that her entered the world of sports after women's sports had gained acceptability with more and more competitors taking part in various sports. It thus enabled her easy entry into fencing, but the tensions remain, especially, during first competition. But the real difficulty she faced was in the balancing of studies and honing her skills in the sport. Setting out time for studies and following a strict practice regimen posed her a host of difficulties. But she worked at it and was able to succeed in her balancing act. She explained that her most golden moment came when she landed the Asian gold medal as the first Saudi fencer. It was an achievement she savored and it also made her more eager to commit to stricter training as she aspires to compete in Olympic Games and do Saudi Arabia proud. — SPA
