DUBAI: Dr. Mariam Saleh Binladen, a Saudi woman, dentist and humanitarian, set a new record that added to her tally of world records, while crossing the Dubai Creek and the Dubai Water Canal, swimming a total distance of 24 kilometres (km) on Friday, 10th March, 2017.
Dr. Mariam’s challenging undertaking began at 5am on Friday, starting from the canal’s Dubai Creek entrance in the Al Shindagha area of Dubai’s historic district. She achieved the feat at 2.10pm, finishing at Al Ghubaiba Station next to the Four Seasons Hotel.
While swimming for 9 hours and 10 minutes, Dr. Mariam battled strong currents at the entrance and mouth of the canal, while passing through some of Dubai’s most striking tourism sites, said Wam.
After reaching the finish line, Dr. Mariam expressed her gratitude for the huge support that she received, and said, “I am thrilled and delighted to become the first person to complete a 24km swim along the wonderful, yet challenging, Dubai Water Canal.
“It was a very challenging experience indeed, given that my preparation time was extremely short, barely one month of preparations to make this event happen. So, I am really happy to have completed the swim successfully, which would not have happened without the amazing support of my family, my crew, my trainer, Fiona, the team from DSC and all the other parties that were involved in this event,” she added.
Syrian Orphans
“This event is part of my continued pledge to raise awareness for the plight of thousands of orphaned Syrian refugees who have lost their parents and guardians, and have been uprooted from their homes, and scattered across different parts of the world.
“I also wanted to motivate more and more women from the Arab World to take on sports and use their talents to achieve the unachievable, knowing that nothing is impossible,” she concluded.
– By Sheena Amos