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Mawda Hesham: the Young Face of Gymnastics in Nubia

September 5, 2018
Photo credit: Marshmallow Kids Station

Three and half years ago, Mawda Hesham came across a Youtube video that inspired her journey with gymnastics. The complex and elaborate moves encouraged her to pursue this challenging sport. Now at the young age of eight, this girl from Dewan, a village in Aswan, has gathered the attention of people in the village, and of tourists, and is hoping to reflect the beauty and empowerment of the sport, and to demonstrate its coherence to her culture through a series of gymnastics moves. “My parents were very encouraging. They signed her up for practice at the Faculty of Physical Education in Alexandria instantly,” Mawda’s bother, Mohamed Hesham recalls. “In the beginning, it was difficult for her because the moves required high flexibility. Sometimes, she would get so upset if she couldn’t get a move to the extent that she would cry. But she was so persistent to get the moves right, so she used to practice a lot until she was able to develop her flexibility,” he continues. Mawda received three golden medals and one silver medal in various local competitions including the Faculty of Physical Education’s triple competition and…


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