At the age of 26, Saudi athlete Rakan Alireza has an impressive list of achievements under his belt. He was part of the Saudi Arabia team that qualified for the Winter Olympics (cross country skiing), the first Saudi to participate in a winter world championship, and he was also the GCC indoor rowing champion of 2019 and 2022.
The fact that the desert kingdom has a rowing and skiing team may come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with the country. But, given Saudi Arabia has undertaken a massive project to boost sports across the board; be it Saudi girls participating at the Olympics, bringing in the world's best footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, perhaps it's not so surprising after all.
What does impress is the fact that Alireza is a top-tier athlete in two disciplines, an achievement that seemed a long way away when he was young.
Alireza grew up in Jeddah. He moved to a boarding school for higher school education in London and then Jordan. “At some point I remember forgetting how to speak Arabic because of the absence of it [in daily life], and then it was decided that I needed to come back to the region. That’s when Jordan happened.”
Alireza wasn’t particularly athletic growing up. He was bullied for being overweight as a child.
“And it wasn’t only in school. One doesn’t get bothered by what strangers say, but it was from friends, and that’s when you really pay attention,” Alireza said.
“Lucky for me my friend in college was into fitness and he suggested we work out together.”
Once Alireza decided it was time for a change, he never looked back. Working on his fitness not only helped improve his physical strength and demeanour, but also gave a boost to his confidence, mindset and sense of discipline.
“I know sports is competitive but ultimately I want to be the best version of myself.”
That mindset saw Alireza pursue a bachelor's degree from Hult International Business School in California. He moved back to Saudi as a consultant for PwC in 2018.
While working, he found himself amidst a paradigm shift in his homneland as fitness and sports took centre stage and the Saudi government began promoting competitions and sports.
“While working in Riyadh, I realised this isn’t the field for me.” Soon, he developed an interest in competitive sports. Alireza participated in cross-fit competitions and worked hard to get one of the highest rankings in the country.
"We have competitive genes; we've got many athletes in the family."
“But then corona [coronavirus] hit; that changed everything. I moved back to Jeddah where I continued training and pursued sports [cross-fit] at a national level."
Saudi Arabia had already set in motion plans to pursue winter sports. The kingdom announced that it was building its first major outdoor skiing destination, Trojena, a ski-mountain resort set to be completed in 2026 and part of the $500 billion mega city Neom. In October 2022 the country was awarded hosting rights for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, with more than 32 countries due to participate.
In 2021, Alireza was asked to join the national skiing team. He jumped at the opportunity.
“I got a call asking if I would like to be the on the first ever Saudi skiing team. I instantly I said 'yes'.”
"We started training in August 2021 and we had our first world competition with professionals in the sport in just five months.
“People with preconceived notions commented, ‘how can you ski when you come from a land with no snow and only sand?' But I was focused on our performance, and I have to say that everyone there was way more experienced than us. And we had never done this at a professional level, ever!”
The Saudi athletes began training immediately ahead of the qualifying races in January for the 2022 Winter Olympics taking place the following month. They had to collect points in order to qualify for Beijing, so "each race had its own set of challenges", Alireza recalls.
“It was the final leg of the race in Iceland; I still remember it like it was yesterday. But I knew we wouldn’t have a chance unless I got the points to qualify from that last race, that’s what we needed and that’s what we did.”
He became the first Saudi Olympic qualifier in cross-country skiing. But while Saudi Arabia created history by qualifying for the Winter Olympics, there was to be heartbreak for Alireza – Saudi Arabia were given only one qualification spot at the Games.
“Even though I was told I got it, we realised there was a rule that only one of us could go and it was my teammate [Fayik Abdi, giant slalom] who ultimately got to go."
Asked if this was a setback, he replies ana radi, which implies he is content and accepts God's will.
“I remember having this discussion with a school friend back in Amman and we were discussing Surah Yusuf [a chapter in the Quran], and how with all that happened in his life from being falsely accused, being imprisoned, what happens at the end ... is what was destined to happen all along.”
Soon after, Alireza was asked to join the national rowing team in 2021. He had coincidently discovered the sport during his time in London.
He recalls meeting up with his cousin Hussein Alireza – the first Olympic rower to represent Saudi Arabia – during a training session.
“I remember we met during one of his training sessions and he said it’s a two kilometre stretch, and joked about how I wouldn’t be able to handle it. And of course, I went for it. We as a family, by nature, are competitive."
Alireza completed that stretch without any training and a few years later added another feather to his cap by making the Saudi rowing team.
“I guess Hussein saw that I had it in me and he reached out to say I should get into rowing,” he says. "That’s how I got into the Saudi rowing team."
“I am currently training for the next Asian championship which takes place in September," he adds.
“I want to inspire the youth and do all of this so that they can see me and know that they can do it too.”
