Dubai: Zahra Lari’s Winter Olympic dream took a step towards reality last month when she became the first figure skater to represent the UAE in an official competition as a member of the International Skating Union (ISU).
The homegrown talent’s ISU membership follows the UAE Ice Sports Federation’s acceptance as a member in October 2013, making the UAE the first country in the Middle East to join.
Membership to the ISU, the governing body for figure skating, is essential in order to enter major international competitions, including the Winter Olympics.
Of her first competitive event in Slovakia last month, Lari said: “Slovakia was a great experience. Even though I finished 12th, I was happy because I improved on my total scores. I’ve been working hard in order to beat my best score for each competition. No one starts at the top. You have to work hard for it and that’s what I’m doing.”
Lari, who trains at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, has seen significant improvements in her performance following the venue’s appointment of world-class coach Zsolt Kerekes.
Coach credentials
Having spent 11 years with the Romanian Olympic and Hungarian national figure skating teams, Kerekes was a three-time national champion and a world top-10 skater.
He has previously coached skaters into national champions and finalists in the World Junior and Senior events.
To reach the Olympics, Zahra will follow his four-year plan, training six days a week. In years one and two, she will master triple jumps so that the rotation reflex becomes automatic, while years three and four will focus on Olympic qualifications.
Barry Bremner, general manager of Zayed Sports City, said: “Zahra is a wonderful example of a homegrown, natural talent and we are immensely proud to say that she has developed at our facility. Adding Zsolt onto our staff has allowed Zahra to continue to train at an international standard without leaving the city, and we are already beginning to see the results of his expertise and experience in her skating.”
Next on Zahra’s ISU competition schedule is the Sportland Trophy competition in Budapest, taking place from March 4 to 9, where she will take on 15 to 20 fellow world-class competitors.
Visit www.zsc.ae for to learn more about Abu Dhabi Figure Skating Team and the ‘Learn to Skate’ programme.
