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It was 16 years ago when Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid, then 28, proudly held the UAE flag as she led the country's eight-member contingent into the 'Bird’s Nest' stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
She made history as the first Gulf woman to carry her country’s national flag and was the first female from the UAE to represent the country in the Olympics.
A martial arts champion, Sheikha Maitha entered the Taekwondo competition having won the over-60kg karate silver medal at the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 and gold at the 11th Pan Arab Games in Cairo the following year.
“My dream is to win the gold in Beijing and I will do everything possible,” she told The National at the time. “It will be the nicest gift for my parents and the country.”
In the 67kg class, Sheikha Maitha was seeded 14th and fell to eventual gold medallist Hwang Kyung-seon of South Korea. She also competed in the repechage round but lost to Sandra Saric of Croatia.
Although Sheikha Maitha did not win a medal, making it to the Games was an impressive feat, especially considering she had only taken up martial arts at the age of 20.
While the UAE did not win any medals at the 2008 Olympics, by forming a part of the national team the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, became part of a tradition that has repeatedly seen members of her family participate in the Games.
Four years earlier, the UAE struck Olympic gold for the first time, with Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed’s victory in the men’s double trap shooting competition in Athens in 2004.
The UAE team – along with those from Bahrain, Oman and Qatar – appeared at their first Olympic Games in Los Angeles, 1984.
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