Paolo Mangilinan and Ghani Souleyman
Paolo Mangilinan (left) and Ghani Souleyman. Image Credit: Screengrab

Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, has lauded two Dubai residents on Tuesday after they completed quite a feat.

The Dubai Crown Prince cheered the Filipino athlete Paolo Mangilinan on his completion of the 10-kilometer daily swimming marathon for 30 days as part the Dubai30x30 Fitness Challenge.

Sheikh Hamdan also acknowledged Ghani Souleyman, a Togolese national, who ran an ultramarathon (45km) per day for 30 days, also as part of the challenge.

Mangilinan, the Filipino aquaman, has successfully achieved a total of 300 kilometers over the past 30 days, completing a 10-kilometer swim a day.

Paolo Mangilinan
Paolo Mangilinan swam 10km daily off Dubai for 30 days as part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge 2020. Image Credit: Facebook

In his social media post, Sheikh Hamdan congratulated both Souleyman and Mangilinan.

“Thank you to everyone who took part in Dubai Fitness Challenge, an initiative that works to transform Dubai into one of the world’s most active and dynamic cities. It motivated us all to set tougher personal goals and actually achieve them. Well done to the two stars of the Challenge:

1. Ghani Souleyman, a Togolese national, who ran an ultramarathon (45km) per day for 30 days.

2. Paolo Mangolinan, a Filipino national, who swam a marathon distance (10kms) per day for 30 days,” Sheikh Hamdan posted on Facebook on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.

Ghani Souleyman.
Ghani Souleyman wakes up at 2am, has a filling breakfast of oats and bananas, then starts running at around 3am. Image Credit: Facebook

What is Dubai Fitness Challenge?

Dubai Fitness Challenge is an annual celebration of fitness and wellness. Launched in 2017, the challenge is simple: complete 30 minutes of activity each day for 30 days. It helps create a fitness-focussed mindset and inspires people to seek healthy, active lifestyles. The month-long event has a packed calendar of free workouts, fitness regimes and wellness-centric entertainment, offering everyone always plenty of inspiration to keep moving.