Saleel and Safaa Al-Abdullah collected three golds and three silvers at the UAE freestyle championship, adding another six-medal result to the Kuwaiti sisters’ record in Dubai.
Kuwaiti sisters Saleel Al-Abdullah and Safaa Al-Abdullah have won six medals at the UAE freestyle championship in Dubai, securing three golds and three silvers across three days of competition.
The championship concluded on Friday, October 16. According to Kuwait News Agency’s report, the pair collected two golds and two silvers in the competitions described as “style”, followed by a further gold and silver in “street style”.
The result adds to an established competitive record for the sisters. In October 2024, they also returned from Dubai with six medals between them. This time, their combined tally included three golds, compared with two at that earlier championship.
Six medals against an international field
Safaa told KUNA that the women’s competition had been closely contested, with athletes from countries including France, Iran and the UAE taking part.
She credited national coach Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaibi with preparing the pair for the championship and acknowledged the support of Kuwait Winter Games Club and the public sports authorities in facilitating their participation.
The latest announcement reported the sisters’ combined medal total without specifying how the three golds and three silvers were divided individually. It nevertheless placed both athletes at the centre of Kuwait’s results across the different freestyle competitions.
Safaa also praised the Emirati organising committee and dedicated the achievement to Kuwait and those involved in the sport at Kuwait Winter Games Club.
A record that stretches beyond one championship
The sisters’ previous performances provide context for their latest result.
At the Dubai international freestyle championship in October 2024, Saleel won one gold and two silvers, while Safaa collected one gold, one silver and one bronze, according to KUNA’s contemporary report carried by Al Jarida.
That competition included athletes representing Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, North Macedonia, Belgium, Latvia, Greece, Estonia, Poland and Thailand. Saleel said at the time that the medals followed preparation for events involving freestyle slopes and rails.
Their results also appear in the international federation’s records. The FIS results for the women’s freeski rail event at Ski Dubai on October 19, 2024 list Saleel in first place and Safaa in second.
The two championships therefore offer a clear record of repeated podium finishes in Dubai. The latest six-medal total matches their combined haul in 2024, while changing its composition from two golds, three silvers and a bronze to three golds and three silvers.
Dubai’s indoor venue hosts the competition
The sixth edition of the UAE international freestyle championship took place at Ski Dubai in Mall of the Emirates.
Al Bayan’s reporting on the event said it was organised by the UAE Winter Sports Federation and brought together more than 60 Emirati and international athletes.
Federation member Ibrahim Khadem told the newspaper that Emirati athletes accounted for 75 per cent of participation. He described the competition as an opportunity for national athletes to gain experience against international competitors.
For the Kuwaiti sisters, the event provided another regional competition in which to add to their medal record. Their participation also brought Kuwait into a field that Safaa described as competitive across several nationalities.
Looking towards the next competition
Safaa said the results would motivate the team ahead of future competitions, although the announcement did not identify the sisters’ next event.
For now, the confirmed achievement is substantial and specific: six medals for Kuwait, half of them gold, delivered by two athletes who had already stood together on the podium in Dubai.
Their latest result adds a new chapter to that shared competitive record, with Saleel and Safaa again raising the Kuwaiti flag at an international freestyle championship.
