Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Sunday, July 13, 2025
    961
    Instagram Facebook LinkedIn TikTok
    • Breaking News
    • Guides
    • Food & Drink
    • Listicles
    • Join the Team
    • Whatsapp
      • 961
      • 961 News
    Advertise with Us Get the App
    961
    Home»Magazine»Sports
    Meet The First Lebanese Woman To Qualify For Olympic Weightlifting Mahassen Hala Fattouh
    Andy Blaida
    3 Mins Read

    Meet The First Lebanese Woman To Qualify For Olympic Weightlifting

    By Hussein YassineJune 18, 2021Updated:June 18, 2021
    Facebook WhatsApp Copy Link

    Lebanese-American weightlifter Mahassen Hala Fattouh has qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, becoming the first woman to ever represent Lebanon in Olympic weightlifting.

    Fattouh’s qualification for the Olympics, a remarkable achievement in itself, comes nearly 7 years after she became the first Lebanese woman to compete in an international weightlifting competition.

    That was in 2014 when she competed as part of the Lebanese National Team in the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) World Weightlifting Championships, in Kazakhstan.

    The event also marked Fattouh’s first participation in an elite-level competition.

    Mahassen Hala Fattouh, who lives in South Carolina, USA, scored her first Olympic qualification points at the IWF World Championship held in Houston, Texas in 2015.

    In the Women’s Weightlifting competition at the XVIII Mediterranean Games held three years later in Spain, she won the first-ever international medal for Lebanon in the category.

    Chasing the Dream

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by Mahassen Hala Fattouh OLY (@mahassenhala)

    From there, she went on to take home more medals at several international championships, most notably the 2019 Arab Championship in Jordan, where she earned 3 gold medals and became the first female Arab Champion while representing Lebanon.

    Still the only woman to represent Lebanon internationally in weightlifting so far (Nadine Kassem and Alexa Mina will join her in doing so this year), Fattouh had had her eyes set on the Olympics for years.

    “It’s official!” the athlete wrote on her Instagram last week, celebrating her qualification. “In 43 days I will become the first female weightlifter in Lebanon’s history to compete at the Olympic Games.”

    “The feeling is indescribable,” she told The961.

    “It sometimes doesn’t entirely seem real and it is such a huge honor to be able to represent Team Lebanon, and Lebanese women everywhere, at the Olympic Games. There is definitely a different feel now when I walk into the gym.”

    Once done competing at the Olympics, the athlete, who takes pride in her Lebanese roots, aspires to create new programs for a sustainable future for women in sports in Lebanon, according to her website.

    Mahassen Hala Fattouh at the 2019 Arab Championship in Amman, Jordan.
    Mahassen Hala Fattouh at the 2019 Arab Championship in Amman, Jordan (Supplied).

    “I’d like to encourage all women to get involved in sport, at any age. Weightlifting is very inclusive with divisions that allow for competition from the time you are a young child to when you are 100,” Fattouh said.

    Her message to the Lebanese diaspora: “We all have a responsibility to invest in Lebanon’s future. It can be through sport, visiting, business or voting. We can all do our part.”

    In the meantime, she continues to train for the big competition ahead.

    This year’s Olympic weightlifting competitions will start on July 24th and continue until August 4, in Tokyo, Japan.

    Japan Lebanon United States
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email

    For You

    caracalla one thousand and one nights

    Caracalla Just Added More Dates For “One Thousand and One Nights” & You Def Don’t Want To Miss It!

    Low-Cost Lebanese Airline 961

    We Might Finally Be Getting A Low-Cost Lebanese Airline – Here’s What We Know

    lebanon jounieh cyprus by ferry 961

    You’ll Soon Be Able To Travel Between Lebanon & Cyprus By Ferry

    lebanese beer brands almaza beirut beer 961

    Lebanese Beer Brands Are Publicly Throwing Shade, And It’s Getting Frothy

    lufthansa beirut 961

    You Can Now Fly To Beirut Again On Lufthansa & Swiss Airlines

    saint levant aub outdoors 2025 961

    Saint Levant Is Officially Headlining AUB Outdoors 2025!

    lebanon jounieh cyprus by ferry 961

    You’ll Soon Be Able To Travel Between Lebanon & Cyprus By Ferry

    20 Celebrities You Probably Didn’t Know Had Lebanese Roots

    April 22, 2019

    Lebanon’s Shawarma Is Going Viral in The Philippines

    April 21, 2019
    caracalla one thousand and one nights

    Caracalla Just Added More Dates For “One Thousand and One Nights” & You Def Don’t Want To Miss It!

    July 5, 2025
    Lebanese boutiques

    25 Boutiques In Lebanon To Find Your Dream Evening Dress This Wedding Season

    June 9, 2024

    20 Typical Lebanese Slang Expressions

    April 21, 2020
    lebanese beer brands almaza beirut beer 961

    Lebanese Beer Brands Are Publicly Throwing Shade, And It’s Getting Frothy

    June 7, 2025
    Low-Cost Lebanese Airline 961

    We Might Finally Be Getting A Low-Cost Lebanese Airline – Here’s What We Know

    June 18, 2025
    whish pay lebanon 961

    You Can Now Use Whish Pay At Shopify Stores

    June 13, 2025

    How Mia Khalifa Became One Of The Most Outspoken Advocates For Lebanon

    August 13, 2020
    961 Logo
    Facebook WhatsApp TikTok Instagram

    Popular Topics

    • Guides
    • Eat & Drink
    • Listicles
    • Lebanon News
    • Diaspora
    • Explained

    961

    • About
    • WhatsApp Channel
    • News WhatsApp Channel
    • Corrections Policy
    • Ownership & Funding

    Services

    • Advertise
    • Careers
    • App Waitlist
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletter
    961™ | All Rights Reserved ©2025
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.