The Mettleset Podcast

If you missed recent headlines about the first Afghan woman to complete the 70.3 Ironman Championship in Utah in the United States on October 28, we’re here to tell you - Zeinab made history. And it’s no surprise that getting there was far from straightforward. Afghanistan is a country where people have been suffering for decades as a result of war and terror and women have been repressed and deni...

Dara Sahab is a woman after our co-host Dawn’s own heart. Like her, our 29-year-old gutsy guest took up cycling as a sport only three months before doing her first ever race, and that too in the historic Saudi Games. The biggest national multi-sport, Olympic-style sporting event in Saudi, which took place from October 27 - November 7, was launched to draw out the Kingdom’s athletic talent and prov...

There’s something unexplainable and enigmatic about underwater caves, which Jarrod Jablonski, the Director of Deep Dive Dubai - the world’s deepest diving pool - beautifully paints for us in this episode.  He should know! The accomplished explorer, educator, published author and world-record setting diver has spent countless hours navigating caves all around the world with an upward of 10,000...

The Mettleset’s bonus episodes, which complement our regular Monday interviews with athletes from the region, are out on Fridays. Our bonus episodes will bring to you a range of trending and topical discussions around sporting news, races and events, along with our co-founders Dawn and Afshan’s own training and upcoming races. Can anyone do a marathon? What is the benefit of doing a mix of aerobic...

Our guest Melina Timson, a triathlon coach and Women for Tri Ambassador, recently completed a 30KM UltraOceanman Kalamata, Greece, open water swim. She walked into our recording studio with pictures of a swollen tongue from a condition called salt mouth that open water swimmers have from long durations of time in salt water. This was only one of the many challenges that she faced during this mind...

Today, The Mettleset launches a new series of bonus episodes, which complement our regular Monday interviews with athletes from the region. Our bonus episodes will bring to you a range of trending and topical discussions around sporting news, races and events, along with our co-founders Dawn and Afshan’s own training and upcoming races. Hi Listeners, Afshan here! The first in our series of bonus e...

Camels are an integral part of the region’s heritage and the embodiment of the Bedouin way of life. But seeing a woman race a camel was uncommon until last year when we started seeing images of female jockeys racing camels to the finish line go viral on social media.  Our guest Linda Krockenberger, UAE’s first female camel jockey trainer and the co-founder of the Arabian Desert Camel Riding C...

Can you win a boxing match with a dislocated shoulder? Our guest, Anisha Shetty, a two-time UAE Muay Thai Champion and three-time National Muay Thai champion for India, can and did! The 26-year-old athlete with an unwavering dream of making Muay Thai a household name in the UAE went against her family’s wishes to pursue a career in mechanical engineering and learnt everything there is to know abou...

Before becoming a well-recognised mental health advocate, Amna Al Hadad was the UAE’s most talked about powerlifter.  She is the first Arab and GCC National to compete in the Reebok Crossfit Asia Regionals in Korea in 2012, the First Arab and GCC Woman to become a competitive covered weightlifter and first Emirati to compete in the 10th International Women Weightlifting Grand Prix in 2013, an...

A pro endurance athlete based in Dubai, Ivana Kolaric is excited by challenges that push her to extremes. She’s competed in the World Toughest Race: Eco Challenge Fiji, the 386kms MOAB240 endurance ultra trail run in Utah, the Spartan World Championship in 2021 and the very first edition of the 1,366km off-road & self-supported Trans Balkan Ultra Cycling Race in 2022. In this episode, Ivana ta...

 Dawn here! In late 2018, I decided to enter the world of self-supported ultra cycling with little more than a wish and a prayer, and signed up for my very first ultra race. At the time, I didn’t own a bike, had never owned a road bike and I had no racing (or real road cycling) experience at all. Three months later, in February 2019, I crossed the line at my first Ultracycling race, BikingMan Om...

The Mettleset Podcast is on a mission to bring you stories of tenacity, courage and mettle from athletes in the Middle East and beyond. From women’s sports and motorsports to adventure, action- and ultra- endurance sports, and everything in between, listeners will get a dose of the region’s most compelling - fun and funny - underreported sports stories every week. Hosts Dawn Barnable (Sports Commu...