If you’ve been paying attention, triathlons are having a moment in the Middle East. More and more athletes from all over the region are taking up the sport.  Equally, Saudi Arabia is seeing a booming interest in sports, especially triathlons, and our guest today has and continues to play a key role in developing it in the region.

This unintentional trailblazer is Dr. Dina Al Tayeb, who began competing in triathlons back in 2005 when no one was doing it and there really wasn’t any tri community to fall back on.

Dina became the first Arab and first Saudi national to complete an Ironman distance triathlon. She is also the first Arab woman and Saudi National to qualify and complete the Ironman World Championships in Kona.  And she is the first Saudi National to qualify and compete in the 70.3 World Championships. Feats and titles she never set out to accomplish as she was simply looking to challenge herself in sports.

In our chat with Dina, she details her start into the world of triathlons when it was largely unheard of, particularly for a Saudi woman.

Along with being a triathlete, she is a certified Ironman Coach, an entrepreneur, dentist and mother. She also is one of the founding board members of the Saudi Triathlon Federation.

Dina’s impact cannot be overstated and in fact, the day after our chat with Dina, she featured in the New York Times’ weekend magazine.

She is an inspiration and role model, a wise owl and the perfect guest for us to welcome into the New Year.

To follow Dina, check her out on instagram @dina.altayeb

To learn more about Triathlon in Saudi Arabia, visit https://www.triathlon.sa

Our wider support team for this episode includes Editor JJ Thompson and our Artwork is by the talented Alexandra Hickey of Studio Theodore.

Our chat with Dina makes us want to push our boundaries a little more this year, and hope you get inspired too!

For more info,  visit www.themettleset.com , and follow us on @themettleset

Dawn & Afshan

@dawnable

@afshahmed