Dr. Mariam, a long-distance swimmer, completed a 9-kilometer swim across the Strait of Tiran. She said, “Some parts of the swim were really nice, it was the flat sea, lovely water, while some parts had the tide against me, big waves, and we had to dig into swim for so long, in this kind of condition.”
Dr. Mariam took part in the first leg of British swimmer Louis Pugh’s journey, who is trying to swim 160 kilometers across the Red Sea in two weeks to raise awareness of the vulnerability of coral reefs before the World Climate Conference in Egypt in November.
Binladen’s latest accomplishment is just another triumph in his swimming career. In 2015, she became the first Arab woman to swim from Europe to Asia in the Hellespont Open Water Competition in Turkey, which also served as her debut international competition. She was also the first woman to swim the entire length of the river Thames in London in ten days in 2016, as well as the first swimmer to complete a 24km race from the Dubai Creek to the Dubai Water Canal in less than nine hours in the UAE.
The swimmer is also an advocate, having dedicated her swimming accomplishments to Syrian refugees. She collaborated with the UNHCR to keep their plight in the spotlight, and she previously established a dental, and medical center in the Azraq camp for Syrian refugees.
He tweeted about it and said, Tomorrow, I will begin the first swim across the Red Sea to deliver a message. Precious coral reefs are being destroyed by warming oceans. I am urging world leaders to take bold climate action”. Pugh is urging governments to take steps to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to protect 30% of the world’s oceans.
Dr. Mariam, who is a dentist by profession, published several photos of her crossing of the Red Sea on Instagram. She also expressed pride at being the first Saudi and Arab to do so, adding, “I am so grateful to have been introduced to @lewis.pugh. When I heard about his plan to swim across the Red Sea, I had to take this opportunity to join him.”
In her writing, she exhorts readers to push past their comfort zones in order to grow stronger “I never thought I would do this swim without a shark cage. But putting ourselves out of our comfort zones is what makes us stronger.”
