Dina Al-Sabah (born February 28, 1974) is a professional figure competitor from

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. She is the only female

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

athlete to achieve pro card status as of 2006, as well as the first female Arab athlete to ever stand on the Olympia stage.

Biography

Al-Sabah was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

; her mother is of Turkish and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n origin, while her father is

i, Turkish and East African origin. Al-Sabah started competing in 1999; she decided to try for the NPC Figure Nationals after winning the Monica Brant Fitness Classic in 2001. When trying to register for the nationals she found out that she had to be a United States citizen in order to be allowed to compete at any of the NPC pro qualifiers. The only way she could compete in the Pro Division of the IFBB was to have recommendation from the Kuwaiti national federation associated with the IFBB. Due to traditional

beliefs, women are not allowed to compete in any

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

competitions, and she was denied a recommendation. Her decision to compete and model has received criticism from conservative Arabs. Al-Sabah is continuing her career as a fitness model, appearing in many fitness publications including ''Oxygen'', ''Ironman'', ''American Curves'', ''Muscle and Fitness'', ''Muscle Mag International'' and ''Flex''. She is the co-host of ''Living Beautiful Radio''. She is a passionate promoter of issues dealing with

female sexuality Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and Human sexual activity, sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious ...

as well as a reviewer of adult products catering to women and couples.

Vital stats

*Full name: Dina Al-Sabah *Birthday: February 28 *Place of birth: Beirut, Lebanon *Current state of residence: Nevada *Occupation: IFBB pro figure athlete, fitness model, information systems consultant, and radio host *Marital status: married *Height: 5'5" *Weight: 117-118 lbs (contest); 123-125 lbs (off-season) *Eye color: brown *Hair color: brown

Contest history

*1999 NGA Mount Rodgers Cup Novice, 2nd *2000 NPC EastCoast Tournament of Champions (MW), 4th *2000 NPC BodyRock, 2nd (LW), won the Best Poser Award *2001 NPC Monica Brant Fitness Classic, 1st (Tall) and Overall *2001 NPC Jan Tana Figure, 1st (Tall), and Overall *2001 NPC NorthEastern Figure Classic, 3rd (Tall) *2002 NPC Pittsburgh Figure Championship, 3rd (Tall) *2002 NPC Bev Francis Atlantic States Figure Championship, 1st (Tall) and Overall *2002 NPC Debbie Kruck Figure Classic, 1st (Tall) and Overall *2002 NPC NorthEast Figure Classic, 1st (Tall) and Overall *2003 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Figure, 4th *2003 IFBB NOC Figure Championships 6th *2003 IFBB NY Pro Figure Championships 2nd *2003 IFBB Jan Tana Pro Figure, 1st *2003 IFBB Miss Figure Olympia, 5th *2003 IFBB GNC Show of Strength, 3rd *2004 IFBB Figure International, 7th *2004 IFBB GNC Show of Strength, 14th *2004 IFBB Miss Figure Olympia, 13th *2006 IFBB Tournament of Champions Pro Figure, 9th *2006 IFBB Palm Beach Pro Figure, 12th *2006 IFBB Sacrament Pro Figure, 8th *2010 IFBB PBW Tampa Pro Bikini, 6th *2010 IFBB Jacksonville Pro Championships, 5th *2010 IFBB Tournament of Champions, 5th *2010 IFBB Detroit Pro, 3rd *2010 IFBB Bikini Olympia, 10th

Personal life

Sabah is married to David Alden. The couple have one son and one daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabah, Dina Al- 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Beirut Lebanese emigrants to the United States Al-Sabah, Dina Fitness and figure competitors

Dina Dina ( ar, دينا, he, דִּינָה, also spelled Dinah, Dena, Deena) is a female given name. Women * Dina bint Abdul-Hamid (1929–2019), Queen consort of Jordan, first wife of King Hussein * Princess Dina Mired of Jordan (born 1965), Princ ...

American people of Kuwaiti descent American people of Syrian descent American people of Turkish descent Lebanese people of Turkish descent Kuwaiti bodybuilders Kuwaiti people of Syrian descent Lebanese people of Syrian descent Kuwaiti people of Turkish descent Sportspeople of Syrian descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent