Hi Guys, If you’ve arrived at Part 2 of our chat with Ishtar Azzawi, the founder of Baghdad Skate Girls, after listening to Part 1,  fabulous. We hope you enjoyed it! If not, we urge you to head to Part 1 of this episode to listen to the inspiring origin story of a skateboarding community exclusively for women in Iraq.  This instalment dives into Ishtar’s professional sporting career in jiu-jitsu. Since starting the sport, after moving to the UAE in 2011, Ishtar has become a multi-national...

Ishtar Azzawi calls this her planting season. It’s fitting because this jiu-jitsu champ, and our guest, who has represented her country Iraq in the sport while living abroad all her life had always felt that her true calling had gone unanswered. So, last year, she decided to pack her life in the UAE and head home to Baghdad.  The planting season symbolises more than just a departure from the comfort of a privileged life and unrestricted access to resources in professional sport for her. It...

Welcome to 2024 and perhaps one of our most important episodes. This is the story of the Gaza Sunbirds, a Palestinian para-cycling team located in Gaza, as told by Karim Ali, the team’s UK-based International Coordinator. While we wished that sharing this story would have been under better and peaceful circumstances, we’re here to tell you that this is a story of hope and true resilience. A story of Sumud, which is explained in the episode.  Like so many across the world, we’ve found it truly...

Hi Guys, Remember the first time you heard about the sport dressage? Did you have to google it or are you reaching for your phone right now? You’re not alone! Even in a country where we are based - the UAE-  and a region where equestrian traditions date back centuries, dressage (and we’ve just dropped a hint here), is only just growing in popularity. So, what do you find when you google dressage? A captivating equestrian art form, a meticulously orchestrated dance that unfolds gracefully...

As you just heard, The Mettleset is launching a new podcast, The Just Bikes Podcast - hosted by Dawn and friends.  As the name suggests, the podcast is all about bikes. From ultra- to adventure, the pain cave to the peloton and lots of type-two fun, The Just Bikes Podcast will feature a host of guests from all over the world to talk about all things cycling and cycling culture.  Follow us on IG at @justbikesthepodcast. Don’t forget to subscribe, like and leave a review wherever you get your...

This episode follows UAE National Day 🇦🇪, when everyone living in the UAE celebrates the independence of the country, 52 years ago. This is a young country with a rich history and a vibrancy that is hard to beat. That’s why it's a pleasure today to have a rising Emirati star - and our youngest guest ever -, 15 year-old snowboarder Amenah Al Muhairi as our guest.  Yes, you heard that correctly, Amenah is an up and coming snowboarder hailing from the United Arab Emirates, a country where winter...

This is Part Two of two of our chat with 15 year-old Emirati snowboarder Amenah Al Muhairi, and her mum Maya!  If you haven’t checked out Part One, you may want to pause and go back and do that now! It’s a great chat about Amenah’s start in sports, her and her family’s approach to training as well as wise words from Amenah herself.  In this - Part Two, we’re chatting through Amenah’s future plans including Olympic aspirations, and the wonderful support she’s received through sponsors. We also...

Today’s guest is the most successful female sailor in Olympic history, Hannah Mills, OBE.  Among Hannah’s many accolades are a Silver in the 2012 London Olympics, a Gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics and another gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  That’s certainly not where it started or ended for Hannah with multiple gold, silver and bronze medals to her name from the World Championships, World Junior Championships, European Championships and European Junior Championships.  In this episode, we chat...

When we sat down with Nadhira Al Harthy for this episode in early October, we knew that we were going to discuss her journey to become the first Omani woman to summit Mount Everest. We also knew we’d discuss how she became the first Arab woman to climb Ama Dablam, one of the most beautiful and technical peaks in Nepal.  What we didn’t know, and as she announced on our show, is that she has become the first ever civilian woman to be embedded with Oman’s military mountaineering team where she...

Thanks for listening. As we mentioned, here are some resources and information below.  Remember, your voice matters! 🇵🇸 Relief Efforts  Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF)- https://www.pcrf.netEmirates Red Crescent - https://www.emiratesrc.aeInternational Committee of the Red Cross - https://www.icrc.org/en  Share Your voice, If you live in Canada, Australia, the UK or the US, please find below links to help contact your elected representatives:  🇨🇦 📝Canada -  Independent Jewish Voices...

Hi Guys, Our show today is as power-packed as our guest when the gun goes off on a run track. Aziza Sbaity, who has earned the title of the Fastest Woman in Lebanese History, joined us for a chat right after her first track and field training session of the season - as she starts her prep to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Aziza has come out of a very busy first half of the year, winning gold in the 200m sprint at the West Asian Athletics Championships in April, at the Arab Athletics...

Today’s guest is one of the next generation of Saudi Arabian sports leaders.  Jude Jamjoon is the Co-Founder and President of Jeddah Tribe and to call this a Tri Club, would be accurate but it would miss the fact that it is also an event series and really at its core, a robust community that offers training, mentorship, support & encouragement for triathletes of all levels, including those who are yet to become triathletes.  This episode is about the power of community or tribe as it...

Hi guys,  Our guest today is from Morocco, a country that was recently rocked by a devastating earthquake. We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the loss that Morocco has experienced and our thoughts are with its people during this difficult time. We’ve also linked some global aid initiatives that you can support below.  Back to today’s guest and an honest unveiling of the hustle behind the glamour of professional golf. Moroccan golfer Maha Haddioui made headlines when she became the...

Today’s guest is from one of the flattest countries in the world, Bahrain.  In fact, the highest point in the entire country is only 134m above sea level and that’s not even open to the public.  Why is that relevant you may ask?   Well, our guest today just completed what is widely considered the hardest ultramarathon in the world, UTMB.  For those who don’t know UTMB stands for the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc, a 171 km trail race with 10,000m of elevation -  all with a time limit of 46 hours...

Hello Dawn here,  I hope you’re all doing well. Summer 2023 is over and well, mine was EPIC with not one, but two adventures involving bikes.  Today’s episode is all about bikepacking in South Korea, more specifically, the 4 Rivers BIke Path in South Korea:  approx 600 km of mostly car-free, dedicated bike paths extending from the Capital city, Seoul, to the southern sea-side city of Busan. I did this in four and a half days in early July.  In today’s episode, Afshan and I chatted through...

Hi Guys - Afshan here Dawn and I are enjoying a summer away from our adopted home Dubai, but are always thinking about you, our listeners, and how we can bring you the most diverse and relatable chats with athletes from the region and beyond. If you’ve arrived at our show for the first time - welcome, there’s a lot of amazing content to go through, and hit that like and subscribe button for future updates and episodes. If you’ve been following us for a while, you’re always in good company....

Hi, Dawn here, I hope you are having a wonderful summer. Before I get into this episode, we want to remind you that we now have a YouTube channel. Expect video episodes - live right now- and new and fun types of content. Please subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@themettleset  So back to this episode. This is the start of a new series which is dedicated to the Beginner Mindset. If you’ve been following along you’ll know that throughout the podcast, we’ve had the opportunity to talk with...

Hey guys, Afshan here - I recently came pretty close to being swept away by the fanaticism of cycling spectators that I had only ever seen when sitting on my couch miles away watching livestreams and reruns of Tour de France. Last month, I was among thousands of fans crammed on either side of Solar Hill , a climb that is one of the most anticipated points for the 3,500 triathletes participating in Challenge Roth, the annual long-distance triathlon in Germany. Earlier this week, we released...

More than 3,500 triathletes, 7,500 volunteers and 300,000 spectators have been descending on a small town in Germany every summer since 1990. There’s a reason Challenge Roth is considered among the top three long-distance triathlons in the world.  And each year, the race sells out in under a minute - this year in 40 seconds for the 2024 edition. As you’ve heard from two triathletes from the Middle East who took on the challenge in June this year, this race is a celebration of endurance,...

Hi Guys, Afshan here, You’ve probably listened to our FIFA special episode with UAE National Football Team player and Adidas athlete Areej Al Hammadi last week. And if you haven’t, click through to EP39: ⚽⚽⚽ and FIFA Women's World Cup: UAE National Team football player and Adidas athlete Areej Al Hammadi on the changing face of women's football in the region and globally to hear about how she carved her own path in this sport, and her insights on the ongoing Women’s World Cup in Australia...

Hello, it’s Afshan We’re only days away from the 9th edition of the Fifa Women’s World Cup, which is held every four years. There’s a palpable excitement in the air as women’s football has grown in stature, with an expanding fan base that is now being recognised by sports associations, brands, governments and the media. This edition of the World Cup, which is being held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, is set to become the most attended standalone women’s sporting event...

Hi, Afshan here - We’re continuing our rewind series this week as Dawn and I are taking a break for some summer adventure. But we are also working hard on exciting new content and sports stories from the region and beyond. So, keep listening! In the meantime, here’s an episode that I’ve chosen because I just witnessed one of the most electrifying long-distance triathlons in the world – Challenge Roth in Germany – and our guest was among the 3,500 participants who were there and smashed her...

Hi all, We hope you're having an amazing summer. We're working on some great new episodes at the moment. We're also having some new adventures that we can't wait to share with you all. In the meantime, we wanted to share once again the story of Nelly Attar, the first Arab women to summit K2. We hope that it inspires you to reach new heights! xDawn ***** July 22, 2022 – On this day our guest, Nelly Attar, became the first Arab woman to summit K2. This is historic for the Arab world. Not...

Wow, how is it June already!? So much has (and is happening) at The Mettleset that we decided to do a little mid-year check in to share what’s been happening in our world, and what new challenges we have in the works.  We also give you a preview of our upcoming summer series.  In what may need a spoiler alert if you’re reading this before listening, links to some of the events discussed are as follows: Challenge Roth  https://www.challenge-roth.com/en/ The Ladakh Marathon -...

Hi Afshan here, In a new book by sports journalist Sally Jenkins called The Right Call - What sports teach us about work and life, she says that we are all a combination of light and electricity as much as tissue. Sports and exercise light us up like a swarm of fireflies.  It sounds romantic but if I have to bring it to reality and layman terms, it’s that rush of joy I feel when I get off my bike after a ride or the sustained high after a run.  It’s what makes sports not just for the elite...