Maha Al Shehhi was only 13 when she realised there was no established pathway for an Emirati girl who desired to swim competitively.
But being told she was unable to train and swim lit a fire inside her that ultimately led her to the Olympics.
“When I found out that I couldn’t swim in the first three years because I was a female, that hit me really hard. They were like, 'You can’t swim. We won’t give you a pool; it’s impossible'. I was like, 'What do you mean? I can'.”
Her family searched for a pool that would allow her and her sisters to swim and train alongside boys. The absence of a clear pathway became the reason for her determination to create one.
“I feel like that was the time when it hit me. I should be a change,” the 20-year-old told The National in an interview at Middlesex University's 'Dubai Women in Sport' series.
In 2024, Al Shehhi represented the UAE at the Paris Olympics, where she swam a personal best time of 2:17.17 in the 200 metres freestyle.
For her, progress is about removing that sense of novelty surrounding female athletes. “The way we talk about females is always a surprise. We never say, 'Great, she’s a female; she did it like how a man would do it',” she says.
Instead, she argues, there’s so much surprise when a woman competes. “My goal is to make it normal. For everyone,” she adds.
For Al Shehhi, normalising female athletes participating in all disciplines is the only way to ensure progress.
Family backing
Maha’s family encouraged her and her two sisters to pursue whatever made them happy. “They always told me that whatever you’re going to pursue, make sure you finish it. You can’t start something without finishing it,” she says.
And so she, alongside her twin sister Mahra and their younger sister Mira, took up the sport together. They became known as 'M3', the three Al Shehhis. All of them went on to represent the UAE.
Sport runs in the family. Born to a Polish mother and an Emirati father, Maha’s mother had once participated in athletics in her youth. Their father initially needed time to adjust to the idea of his daughters training in an environment he had largely associated with men. However, their commitment to the sport eventually won him over.
“He did have a rough time trying to understand but then he saw the 4am training and the 5pm training and he saw how dedicated we were so he was like, ‘You know what, I’ll always support you. I’m your father. I’m here for you. Just know I’ll be the backbone of everything’,” says Al Shehhi.
“Our mother is the support system. She makes sure that every training session I go to, I smile. Everyone has this thing with me that if you don’t see Maha smiling, it’s a bad thing; it’s the end of the world.
“She always makes sure I’m happy. She makes sure that I’m doing it for myself and if I feel low, she's like do it for me and it motivates me.
“She always reminds me that I’m also doing it for the younger generation; that's my priority and I really want to just make a clear path.”
That’s not to say there haven't been times when she didn’t contemplate walking away.
Having a strong support system was key to keeping her on track, as is her fierce competitive nature and the desire to rebel against those who tell her 'no', something she attributes to her heritage.
“When it comes to swimming and when it comes to fighting in the pool or racing, it’s the Polish blood coming out,” she says.
Forging a path
Emiratis often speak with pride of Eyal Zayed, the sons of Zayed, named after the nation’s founding father. Al Shehhi wants the same reverence for ‘Banat Zayed’, his daughters. She wants future generations to find it easier to access pools, sponsorship and equipment.
“My goal is to make sure the girls that are coming right after me or in any other sport feel like they shouldn’t go through the challenges I went through because I would never wish that on my worst enemy, honestly,” she says.
Al Shehhi estimates that 90 per cent of parents she meets still discourage their daughters from entering the sport, whether it be on account of wearing a swimsuit, mixed training, or the belief that sport is simply a distraction from studies. Al Shehhi says she often offers to speak to parents to ease their concerns.
“Let her enjoy what she wants to do. You can't force her to just study and then spend the day doing nothing. If she feels like she wants to do a sport, let her. Let her run, let her jog, let her do anything. But let her experience what she wants to experience,” she says.