Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

Happy Eid Al Etihad! 🇦🇪

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast takes us trackside with Maryam Al Farsi, one of the UAE’s youngest Olympians. From picking up sprinting just five years ago to running the 100m at Paris 2024, Maryam’s journey is full of grit, laughs, and a few moments that will make you feel like you’re right there on the starting blocks. She opens up about the ups and downs of training, balancing school and elite sport, breaking personal records, and what it felt like stepping into the Olympic Village surrounded by her heroes.

Whether you’re a sports fan or just love an inspiring story, this episode is packed with honesty, determination, and a glimpse of what it really takes to chase your dreams on the world stage.

Enjoy!

Follow Mariam on Instagram: @maryamalfarsi1

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn
• 🌐Website: TheMettleset.com

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guest: Maryam Al Farsi
• Editor: Diya Vergis
• Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

Today, we roll into a story about community, connection, and a love of the game. 🎳

In collaboration with Zayed Sports City, we spotlight the athletes and grassroots groups shaping Abu Dhabi’s women’s and community sports scene. And there’s no better example than the Abu Dhabi Filipino Bowling Club, more than a league for nearly four decades, it’s a second family for generations of Filipinos in the UAE.

Recorded at the Khalifa International Bowling Center at Zayed Sports City, we chat with Sarah Ociones, a long-time resident, former UAE National Team bowler, and central figure in the club. She shares how bowling went from a fun family activity to international competition, how the club has grown, and the ways it brings people together - through tournaments, charity, and sheer love of the game.

Whether you’re a bowler or just curious about how sport creates community, this episode is full of laughter, inspiration, and stories that make Abu Dhabi feel like home.

Full feature linked here. Enjoy!

Follow Abu Dhabi Filipino Bowling Club on Instagram: @adfbc.uae

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn
• 🌐Website: TheMettleset.com

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guest: Sarah Ociones
• Editor: Diya Vergis
• Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

One of the biggest myths in sport?

That women experience stress more intensely than men, and cope less effectively.

In this episode recorded live at the Emirates Sports Medicine Conference, sports psychologist and researcher Dr. Mariana Kessler breaks down why that long-held belief simply isn’t true.

Drawing from years of research into stress, coping, wellbeing, and gender differences in athletes, Dr. Mariana explains what the science actually shows, and why women’s experiences in sport often feel more stressful for reasons that have nothing to do with biology or ability.

She dives into the real issue: the systemic barriers women face every day in sport. From microaggressions to under-representation to male-dominated research frameworks, Dr. Mariana highlights how the environment shapes stress far more than individual traits.

We also unpack the four areas in sport where the gender gap remains most visible, research, representation, media visibility, and funding, and what needs to change to close those gaps.

Follow Dr. Mariana on LinkedIn: Dr. Mariana Kaiseler

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guest: Dr.Mariana Kaiseler
• Editor: Diya Vergis
• Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

This week, we’re joined by Dr. Margo Mountjoy, sports physician, clinical professor at McMaster University, and one of the world’s leading experts on RED‑S - Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport.

Recorded live at the Emirates Sports Medicine Conference, Dr. Mountjoy breaks down what RED‑S really means, how it affects both women and men, and why it often hides in plain sight behind fatigue, injury, or performance dips.

She explains how low energy availability impacts the body, from bone and reproductive health to mental focus, and why recovery starts with something deceptively simple: eating enough to meet your training load.

We also dive into the cultural and psychological layers around food and body image in sport, the importance of educating young and endurance athletes early, and how awareness and individualized care can prevent long-term health consequences.

Beyond physiology, Dr. Mountjoy reflects on gender equity in sport, from medical research to leadership, and her hope for a more inclusive, athlete-centered future.

A must-listen for athletes, coaches, parents, and anyone who believes high performance and health should go hand in hand. 🎧

Follow Dr. Margo on Instagram: @drmargomountjoy

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guest: Dr.Margo Mountjoy
• Editor: Diya Vergis
• Produced by: The Mettleset

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

This week, we’re turning the mic inward to one of our own, Nourelhoda Arafa, Egyptian national rower and record holder, and Olympic hopeful.

At 13, she picked up rowing for the first time. By 15, she was chasing Olympic dreams. Then came a sudden stop, no boats, no water, no access. For seven years, Nourelhoda couldn’t row outdoors. Most people would’ve given up. She didn’t.

Alongside her longtime coach Motaz, she kept training indoors, building strength, discipline, and belief. That commitment led to Egypt’s first-ever World Indoor Rowing gold medal in 2020, followed by multiple medals on the world stage.

Now, she’s back on the water, training for LA 2028, and sharing what she’s learned along the way, from managing setbacks,rebuilding after illness, learning to listen to her body, and what it means to live up to her name, Nourelhoda, “a guiding light.”

Her story is about what happens when you refuse to give up, and how, sometimes, luck really does chase the ones who keep going. 🎧

Follow Nourelhoda on Instagram: @nourelhoda.arafa

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guest: Nourelhoda Ara
• Editor: Diya Vergis
• Produced by: The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

We’re taking you straight to Abu Dhabi for a conversation that had everyone talking.

Recorded live at the Sport Industry Forum 2025 (October 1–2, Yas Marina Circuit), this special episode features Alexis Ohanian - entrepreneur, investor, and, as we like to call him, women’s sport’s biggest hype man - in conversation with Chris McHardy, Head of Sport at Dubai Eye 103.8.

The Reddit and 776 co-founder, Angel City FC backer, Chelsea FC Women investor, and founder of Athlos, Ohanian shares why he believes sport is the ultimate “anti-AI bet” - a human story that can’t be automated, commodified, or replicated.

He explains why women’s sport is not a charity play but a massively undervalued asset class, with billion-dollar potential hiding in plain sight. From turning Angel City FC into a $280 million success story to launching a new global track-and-field league built like a tech startup, Ohanian reveals how he’s using data, community, and storytelling to prove the doubters wrong — and why connection, not comparison, is driving the next wave of growth.

As a girl dad and relentless builder, he’s betting on what makes us most human, sport itself.

If you weren’t a believer before, you might just be after this one. 🎧

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

🎙️ Credits

Host: Dawn Barnable

Speakers: Alexis Ohanian & Chris McHardy

Recorded live at: Sport Industry Forum 2025, Abu Dhabi

Produced by: The Mettleset's Diya Vergis

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

In this episode, we head back to Chamonix for Part 2 of our UTMB special with Karis Miriam Brown, former lawyer, podium-finishing ultra trail runner, and certified coach.

This summer, Karis lined up at the CCC 100K, one of UTMB’s toughest races. Her journey is raw and real: battling a meniscus tear, reshaping expectations mid-race, and leaning into the “why” that fuels her training and racing.

Karis also shares:

• Lessons from training with elites on Réunion Island
• How to reset when your race plan falls apart
• Why community, challenge, and her daughters drive her forward

🎧 Inspiring, honest, and packed with takeaways, this is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever dreamed of testing themselves on the trails.

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guests: Karis Miriam Brown
• Editor: Diya Vergis
• A Production of The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and community sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. We put women in sport first while highlighting niche communities like action and endurance sports.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

- Dawn

Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟

In this episode of The Mettleset Podcast, we dive into UTMB – Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc, one of the world’s most iconic trail running festivals.

We sat down with three remarkable women from the region who took on the UTMB World Series Finals, sharing their journeys of pushing limits, chasing personal bests, and soaking in the magic of Chamonix.

Featured Athletes:

• Ivana Kolaric – Returned post-pregnancy to finish top 30 and 2nd in her age group at the 61K OCC.
• Fatema Husain – Bahrain’s ultra trailblazer and first GCC woman to complete the 100-mile UTMB, sharing her journey through injury and breathtaking mountain views.
• Sharifah AlQattan – Ultra trail runner, coach, and Boom Ultra Challenge race director, talking mindset, preparation, and the pride of crossing the finish line.

✨ Don’t miss part two featuring Karis M. Brown.

🎧 Listen to Fatema’s previous episode here.

🎧 Listen to Ivana’s previous episode here.

🌍 Stay Connected with - and support - The Mettleset

• 📥 Newsletter: Sign up for athlete stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and women’s sports news from MENA and beyond
• 📸 Instagram: @themettleset
• 💼 LinkedIn: The Mettleset on LinkedIn

Credits:

• Host: Dawn Barnable
• Guests: Ivana Kolaric, Fatema Husain, Sharifah AlQattan
• Editor: Diya Vergis

A Production of The Mettleset

🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and community sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. We put women in sport first while highlighting niche communities like action and endurance sports.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

- Dawn