JEDDAH: Reem Hazzazi is among a new wave of Saudi women breaking barriers in sports, carving her place not as an athlete, but as one of the Kingdom’s first international weightlifting referees.
Her journey began a little over three years ago at the moment she stepped into a weightlifting hall, drawn not to the cheers of the crowd thrilled by the athletes’ performance, but to the quiet precision of referees.
“I realized I didn’t just want to watch weightlifting; I wanted to be part of it, but from a different angle,” Hazzazi, 40, told Arab News. “That’s when I decided to pursue refereeing.”
For years, weightlifting was seen largely as a men’s sport, with few envisioning women in officiating roles. Hazzazi embraced that challenge.
“The biggest hurdle was breaking the stereotype,” she explained. “At first, people were surprised to see me in this role. But with persistence and hard work, that surprise turned into respect.”
