Sheikha Asma Al Thani aims to become the first Qatari woman to climb Mount Everest in April/May this year as part of her drive to inspire women and young people in the region to challenge stereotypes and fulfil their dreams.
Everest represents the toughest challenge yet on Sheikha Asma’s journey to become the first woman from the Middle East to complete the Explorers Grand Slam, which involves climbing all of the Seven Summits and reaching the North Pole and South Pole. She is only the third Qatari to ever attempt the climb and, if successful, would become the first Qatari woman in history to stand 8,849 metres above sea level.
Sheikha Asma Al Thani said:
"I have dreamed of climbing mountains ever since I was young. A dream which has always been ignited by my love of sport and its ability to inspire.
"In my extensive work within sport in Qatar, I have seen first-hand the powerful impact that sport and its incredible athletes can have on the lives of so many. If they fall, they always get up and try harder. And if they lose, they always rise stronger. Ultimately, they inspire us all to be better versions of ourselves.
"I climb mountains because it challenges my limits. And it is my hope that, by taking on the world’s highest mountains, I can challenge the stereotypical image of the traditional explorer and empower women and youth in the region to challenge themselves and dream bigger."
An avid adventurer, Sheikha Asma has already completed three of the nine Explorers Grand Slam challenges. In 2018, she became the first Qatari to ski the last degree to the North Pole as part of an international team of women from across Europe and the Middle East, and the first Qatari woman to summit Aconcagua in 2019. Prior to this, in 2014, she was among the first group of Qatari women to summit Kilimanjaro.
"This has been a journey of firsts, but this is not my focus. My ultimate dream is to be the first of many Qatari women to achieve such feats. Together we can all work to inspire the next generation of women to achieve their dreams," said Sheikha Asma.
Sheikha Asma will travel to Nepal on 1 April to begin her trek to Everest Basecamp for acclimatisation, before attempting to summit Everest in mid-May if conditions allow.
As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.
These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
