Swim 62

Challenge

Improving wellbeing by facing up to your fears

Having struggled to maintain his physical and mental sharpness during the Covid pandemic, Mansour Al Dhaheri decided that, as he turned 40, he wanted to make positive changes in his life. From losing weight to spending more time doing jujitsu, he was ready to start on a new journey once pandemic restrictions eased.

To begin with, Mansour made good progress and succeeded in getting back some of his physical fitness again. But he also felt that the steps he had taken so far weren’t enough, so to enhance his jujitsu skills he wanted to take on new sports and challenges. He turned to swimming – a far from obvious choice, as he explained, “The funny thing with choosing swimming is that I’ve always been afraid of the water because of an incident I had many years ago. But the only way to face my fear is to jump straight in so that’s what I did.”

It wasn’t enough simply to face up to his fear of water though. Mansour set himself the ambitious task of being the first person to swim around Abu Dhabi Island – a 62-kilometre challenge that would test his mental and physical strength.

Solution

Fast-tracking decades of experience

Although Mansour had some experience of competing in sports, he had none in swimming and had little of the technique and mastery needed to take on the Swim 62 challenge. So to quickly build his resilience and fortitude, Hintsa’s performance coaches devised a training programme that would see Mansour follow a regime similar to that of professional swimmers with decades of experience.

The programme included individual sessions focusing on mental resilience, physical conditioning and technical swimming skills. Through nutritional and mental coaching, he developed the tools necessary to recover and go again during the tough programme.

By the end of the training, Mansour had swum over 900 kilometres and developed his physical capabilities and mental strength. But undergoing this intensive training programme required substantial resilience from Mansour, something that he personally demands of himself often: “The challenge for yourself is to slowly start to know yourself. Asking yourself day by day who you are, how far can you take yourself, how much can I endure. It’s about taking steps to answer these questions”. By committing to his training, Mansour was soon ready to take on the Swim 62 challenge.

Results

Inspiring the next generation through leading by example

After a year of intense training with Hintsa’s performance coaches, Mansour successfully took on and completed the Swim 62 challenge, becoming the first man to swim around Abu Dhabi Island. Undertaken alongside a team of swimmers, the challenge was completed in 33 hours and 58 minutes.

Guided by dedicated coaches, Mansour mastered his fear of water and has gone on to complete Row Abu Dhabi – a 400-kilometre rowing challenge that saw Mansour and a team of sailors travel between 11 islands in 10 days.

Moreover, Mansour has taken on an even more important mission. Around his physical activities, he visits schools where he speaks to children about the benefits of setting your mind to facing some of your deepest challenges. “I tell them my fears and then it’s okay to be a fool at the beginning”, he says. “We all have challenges and we all face things, and it’s normal to want to turn away from these things. But there’s really nothing to be afraid of.”

Mansour’s success shows just what can be achieved by tackling fears head on and seeking greater mental strength and determination. Our team of coaches were delighted to see Mansour succeed in his challenge – but it’s just the start.