The young showjumping sensation carrying the flag — and hopes — of the UAE into the Olympics

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Soaring over fences on horseback in Hangzhou, China, last October, Omar Al Marzouqi was jumping into history. Four thousand miles away, back home in Abu Dhabi, his sister joined a Zoom class for a university lecture to help her brother take down key notes.

With his Olympics debut galloping ever closer, 21-year-old Omar is making his name as the showjumping star of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but his juggling skills are equally as impressive.

At the Asian Games in China, Al Marzouqi notched two medals – an individual silver and team bronze – to help power the UAE to an unprecedented three-medal haul. A few months later, he aced an entirely different set of examinations to collect his double bachelor’s degree in philosophy and sociology.

As he competed at events across the globe, Al Marzouqi often found himself in wildly different time zones to Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi – a French and English-speaking affiliate of the Paris-based university in the UAE’s capital – making for a grueling final year of studies.

Yet Al Marzouqi made it work – with a little help from his sister.

“I like to set high challenges and try to make it possible … the support I got from my family was unbelievable,” he told CNN.

Showjumping has always a family affair for Al Marzouqi, who mounted his first pony at just three years old.

His first taste of international competition arrived at just 12 years old, a rapid rise under the expert eye of his father, a former rider who trained some of the nation’s best jumpers before turning his attention to his son.

Al Marzouqi has no shortage of heroes in the sport – Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Germany’s Christian Ahlmann to name just two – but his father is his greatest influence, with the duo running their own stable.

“I’m really lucky to have a trainer like my dad,” he said. “He was tough on me for a long time but at least it paid off.”

His father was in tears in 2018 as he watched his son hoist aloft his silver medal at the Youth Olympics in Argentina, the first time an Emirati had ever stepped foot on the podium at the tournament.

Just 15 years old at the time, Al Marzouqi was comfortably the youngest rider in the field in Buenos Aires. Jump forward to 2024, and he is not only used to the questions about his age from wide-eyed competitors, he relishes them.

“Show jumping is my lifestyle”

Al Marzouqi will saddle up for his biggest test yet at the Paris Olympics later this month, carrying the UAE flag into the opening ceremony on July 26 as his country sends an equestrian team to the Games for the first time ever.

The UAE’s qualification is a significant milestone for the country, where horsemanship has a long and rich history among the Bedouin people, and where horses are a cherished cultural symbol, taking center stage in national day celebrations each year.

For Al Marzouqi, continuing that lineage is a privilege. “Show jumping is my lifestyle. Horses are just amazing. It’s a difficult sport, because you’ve got a soul under you that might get scared of anything. You have to really control the brain and to stay focused for this one minute … it’s a lot of work.”

The youngster has had three months to develop a close connection with his horse, Enjoy de la Mure, their partnership emboldened by a Grand Prix victory in Montefalco, Italy, in May.

The win sends him into Paris full of optimism in his pursuit of what would be a truly stunning medal.

Only twice has an athlete from the UAE ascended the podium at a Games; shooter Ahmed Al Maktoum winning gold at Athens 2004 before Sergiu Toma won a judo bronze in Rio in 2016.

Even Al Marzouqi hasn’t been able to stop his thoughts from drifting to the vision of a medal around his neck, but the 21-year-old is realistic about his chances.

“I think to any athlete, winning an Olympic medal, you’d be living in the clouds,” he said.

“The team looks good, the horses look fabulous, but we need some luck for the day. I hope for a medal obviously, but I just want to represent my country in the best way possible and try to make them proud of me.”

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