Amal Murad is the first Emirati woman to coach and competes in parkour or freerunning. She says that when she first started she was afraid that society would not accept her, but has been surprised by the amount of support she received.
Born in 1992, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Amal Murad who was 22 at the time, decided to try Parkour training at her cousin’s callisthenics gym, Gravity DXB. ‘Parkour’ stems from the French word ‘parcours’ meaning ‘the way through’ or ‘the path’, which Amal discovered during a year of dedicated, intensive training. Her skill level was noted by her cousin Yousuf Al Gurg, who helped her achieve her goal to become the first Emirati all-ladies Parkour trainer since there weren’t any classes for ladies during that time in the region.
Amal, who decided to leave the corporate life to pursue parkour, was then recognized by Nike and had become an Ambassador since 2017. Amal continued her education in the fitness world and is now a certified Level 3 Personal Trainer (REPS), a certified Calisthenics Level 2 Instructor (WCO) as well as a certified Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach (NSCA) after she, herself, has also become a mother. Although it is a continuous struggle of self-discovery, she has never looked back and wants to be a pioneer that inspires the next generation to become leaders in whatever field they choose.
She did not compete much in 2019 as she was pregnant, however, she has continued her influence through social media where she has over 16k followers.