Habiba Marzouk, rhythmic gymnast, out to change perceptions at Tokyo 2020 after becoming the first Egyptian in eight years to qualify for the Individual all-around competition at the Olympic Games.
More than a year ago, the teenage sensation qualified for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 after winning the individual all-around competition at the 15th African Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, as mentioned on the official Olympics website.
“Trendify” interviewed the top-ranking gymnast for an exclusive look into her journey to the Tokyo Olympics.
How is preparing for the Olympics going?
I am currently in a training camp with the Egyptian National team, from 8am to 7pm daily with a two hour break. We participate in championships as a way of normalizing the competition’s environment before heading to Tokyo, we must be mentally and physically prepared and in our best possible form.
When did you realise Gymnastics was your passion?
Gymnastics was just a hobby to me at first, I felt like I was doing something unique that impressed my friends and family. However, as I got older, training gradually became more difficult and more serious. It is a sport that requires extremely long hours of training. Ever since I became a junior gymnastic athlete, training hours sometimes took over school hours, and my life almost only revolved around gymnastics.
This was all due to my passion towards this sport, it is a unique and difficult sport that not many endure its difficulties, challenges and injuries. The fact that I reached this point is something I am proud of. I show my character and personality through it, I release all my emotions, worries and express myself through my movement. It’s a huge part of my life, actually, it is my whole life!
What are your goals throughout your athletic career?
Ever since I participated in international championships, I aimed to achieve high records, which I succeeded in, thankfully. I achieved a Bronze medal in my first ever international championship in Kazakhstan, which is something big, for me and for Egypt, it was something that hasn’t happened in this sport in Egypt for a long time. This was the push that gave me the incentive I needed to reach the Olympics.
My goal was and still is achieving new records in all the championships I participate in. As well as showing people globally that Egypt does not only participate just for the sake of participating in international championships, we participate to compete and achieve high ranks.
Our society sees us only as participants, but we aim to change that stereotype.
Who is your role model in Gymnastics?
Liubov Charkashyna, a retired Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all-around bronze medalist, and the 2011 European ball and clubs champion. She is from the top performers who give me the feeling that I received a message from her performance. She moves with every particle in her body, she has great passion for this sport and it shows from her performances.
This is what I aim to show as well while I perform. I wish to make people realise my message through my movement, and have them enjoy it as well, whether it is a fun and light routine or slow and dark. She had almost the same goal as I do, that’s why I look up to her and admire her passion for the sport.
How do you choose the piece of music that you perform to?
We don’t follow a specific guide, but as long as it doesn’t violate any rules, we can choose whatever we want. Personally, I like to choose music that I could connect with, so that I could create a routine that has a specific style and theme.
The song I am working with this year is “Unstoppable” by Unsecret, since obviously I cannot speak while performing, this song says all I wish to say.
How did the Coronavirus pandemic affect your training?
It definitely had a negative impact, however it did have some positive aspects. We had been preparing for the Olympics qualifications since before it was announced as a pandemic in March. We were extremely exhausted and I had been suffering from injuries, thanks to the lockdown, we had time to recover and heal our injuries. It was a breath of fresh air that we needed to prepare for the coming championships.
Of course it affected our physical and mental form, but gladly we were able to recover from this and tried to only focus on the positive side.
How do you feel about competing in Tokyo?
I feel extremely proud that I will be representing Egypt and Africa in the Tokyo Olympics. It is a great responsibility and I hope to make everyone proud. As much as I am glad I am representing Egypt, I aim to show my effort throughout the last 16 years in my participation and hopefully that would lead to a medal.
Winning a medal in Tokyo is a great challenge, I couldn’t say I am confident we would win a medal, but I could say that I would hopefully achieve one of the top 15 ranks.