Dubai: Lamia Tariq Farsi, the UAE’s pride as the youngest rhythmic gymnastic champion, is keen to inspire the next generation of youngsters after being chosen for Nickelodeon’s ‘Extraordinary Me’ campaign in the UAE.
At just nine years, Lamia has shone in the world of rhythmic gymnastics with international medals in France, Uzbekistan and Germany, to mention a few.
Nickelodeon’s latest ‘Extraordinary Me’ campaign fronted by the popular television channel for kids sees Lamia and DJ Michelle — the youngest professional female DJ — tell their unique stories while inspiring young viewers to build something beautiful with their passions.
“It’s a matter of pride and immense pleasure for me to be chosen for such a campaign. Not only do I want to show my sport of rhythmic gymnastics to the world, but I want to motivate everyone, especially young children to take up to some sort of sporting activity,” Lamia told Gulf News.
“I am equally proud to be an Emirati practicing this sport while breaking a lot of barriers. I want to inspire children to be healthy especially during these COVID times by eating better and staying healthy by taking up some sort of sporting activity. From my own experience, it is very important for kids to be sporty from a young age.”
Nickelodeon’s international campaign sheds light on kids’ extraordinary passions as well as their determination in pursuing their goals. The campaign will feature eight children from across the world, as each relates his or her own unique story in their own language.
The series will kick-start with a two-minute video from the local talents, while introducing themselves and inviting the audience for a behind the scene tour of the shoot.
A product at the Dubai Youth Olympic School of Rhythmic Gymnastics, Lamia started gymnastics when she was just five years old under the tutelage of former Olympic champion Ksenia Dzhalaganiya.
Her first gold medal came as a six-year-old at the inaugural Dubai International Junior Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held at the Al Habtoor Indoor Complex in 2017. After that, Lamia inspired the country with gold medals at the Open GR Azur International in Nice, France and the Emirates Rhythmic Gymnastics Cup and the 2018 Armonia Cup in Thessaloniki.
She also took silver at the 2017 Winter Cup in Leverkusen and a bronze at the prestigious Novogorsk Winter Cup in Moscow at the end of 2018.
Last year, the Emirati athlete became the youngest winner so far of the prestigious Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Award for Creative Sports hosted and organised by the Dubai Sports Council. She celebrated this achievement with another gold medal, this time at the International Rhythmic Gymnastics Youth Cup in Tashkent.
Despite all these accolades, Lamia has stayed true to herself with her sights firmly on representing the UAE at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. “The medals and awards are just a means to my ultimate goal. These are meant to motivate me to be better and to finally bring glory and honour to my country at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games,” she said. “I hope that one day the UAE will have an association for a new sport like rhythmic gymnastics so that I have the opportunity to represent my country and fly my flag high.”
The pieces will go live from Friday on the Nickelodeon channel that is exclusively available on OSN across the Middle East region. The series will also be available on the Nickelodeon website and on Nickelodeon Arabia’s YouTube channel.
