Zahra Lari

Zahra Lari
Personal information
Country represented United Arab Emirates
Born (1995-03-03) March 3, 1995
Home town Abu Dhabi
Coach Alexandra Ievleva
Former coach Zsolt Kerekes
Choreographer Emilia Ahsan (SP), Mark Pilay (FS)
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 80.09
Cup of Tyrol 2017
Short program 25.90
Cup of Tyrol 2017
Free skate 54.19
Cup of Tyrol 2017

Zahra Lari (born March 3, 1995) is an Emirati figure skater. She is the first figure skater from the UAE to compete internationally. A practicing Muslim, she is also the first figure skater to compete in a hijab.[1] She hopes to serve as an inspiration to other young women.[2]

Personal life

Zahra Lari is from Abu Dhabi, UAE. Her mother is from North Carolina and had converted to Islam prior to meeting her Emirati father at a university in Atlanta, Georgia.[3] She was inspired to try figure skating at the age of 11, after watching the Disney film Ice Princess, and was able to begin skating lessons at the age of 13.[4] She is currently a student at Abu Dhabi University, where she studies environmental health and safety, though she hopes to pursue a career as a skating coach.[3] In 2017, she was included in a Nike, Inc. ad featuring Muslim women athletes.[5]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating
2017–18 [6]
2016–17 [6]

Career

Early career

Lari began learning to skate at the age of 13 at Zayed Sports City. Although her mother was initially supportive, it took some time before her father would let her compete, preferring she continued skating as a hobby. However, after he saw how passionate she was about the sport, he relented.[7]

2011-12 Season

Her junior international debut was in the 2011-12 season at the European Cup in Canazei, Italy. She received a deduction due to her headscarf, as it was not an approved part of the costume. However, after taking up the issue with the ISU, they changed the rule, allowing for headscarves to be worn in competition.[3]

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series

International
Event 14–15 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18-19
CS LombardiaWD
CS Nebelhorn33rd
Bavarian Open15th
Cup of Tyrol25th19th
Golden Bear13th
Slovenia Open23rd
Egna Spring Trophy12th
Asian Winter Games18th
Skate Helena14th
Merano Cup16th
Int. Challenge Cup11th
FBMA Trophy4th5th15th10th
International: Junior
Sportland Trophy26th
New Year’s Cup12th
Dubai Golden Cup7th
National
Emirati Champ.1st1st
J = Junior level

Detailed Results

Senior career

2017–18 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
January 5-7, 2017 FBMA Trophy 2017 Senior 15
24.17		 15
50.59		 15
74.76
2016–17 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
April 6 - 9, 2017 Egna Spring Trophy Senior 12
25.81		 12
51.86		 12
77.67
February 28 - March 5, 2017 Cup of Tyrol 2017 Senior 24
25.90		 26
54.19		 25
80.09
February 19–26, 2017 2017 Asian Winter Games Senior 19
23.31		 17
53.37		 18
76.68
January 17–21, 2017 10th Europa Cup Skate Helena Senior 15
21.87		 13
50.69		 14
72.56
January 5–7, 2017 FBMA Trophy 2017 Senior 17
24.17		 16
50.59		 16
74.76
November 10–13, 2016 19th ISU Merano Cup 2016 Senior 17
19.95		 16
45.67		 16
65.62
2015–16 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
January 22–23, 2016 FBMA Trophy 2016 Senior 5
20.50		 5
41.37		 5
61.87
2014–15 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
April 3–5, 2015 FBMA Trophy 2015 Senior 4
25.81		 4
46.66		 4
72.47
February 19–22, 2015 International Challenge Cup 2015 Senior 12
19.65		 11
39.51		 11
59.16

Junior career

2013–14 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
May 5-June 5, 2014 Dubai Golden Cup 2014[8] Junior 4
25.70		 7
39.70		 7
65.40
2011–12 season
April 9–13, 2012 2012 European Cup[9] Junior 15

See also

Further reading

  • Hassan, Sarah. "Zahra Lari: Ice Princess in the Arabian Desert". CNN.

References

  1. ↑ Barranguet, Emmanuel. "Zahra Lari, the 'Ice Princess' in the hijab". Al Arabiya News. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Kuruvilla, Carol. "This Muslim Figure Skater Is Determined To Make History At The Olympics". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts, Hannah. "Zahra Lari on how she became the UAE's top figure skater". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Healy, Melinda. "My UAE: Ice skater Zahra Lari hopes to take her blades to glory". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Egarter, Simone. "Nike commercial celebrates Arab female athletes 'to inspire others'". CNN. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Zahra LARI". International Skating Union. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Hogg, Camille. "PEOPLE: Meet Zahra Lari, the UAE's figure skating superstar". Abu Dhabi World Online. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Entries/Results". Dubai Golden Cup 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Results for ZAHRA Lari, Abu Dhabi Figure Skating Team, United Arab Emirates". European Criterium. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
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