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I want people to know that regardless of your circumstance if you believe it and remain committed to it, it will happen for you, too.

Q: Did your community and family support your boxing career from the start?

A: I fully expected friends and family to not want me to box -- not just because of my Somali or Islamic culture, but because of the perception of females in sport in general. Combat sports historically don't look at women as fighters or athletes. Films on boxing or martial arts, in general, are all about men. So, I didn't expect much in the way of acceptance. I've been competing for over 10 years and have had nearly 60 fights. But it's only been in the last year that friends and family even think of boxing as my career. Access to sport in general needs to improve for children across a broad spectrum of demographics. Asking my family to understand that sport for a woman is a real career was a huge ask, sadly.

Q: You have an eye on becoming the first boxer to represent Somalia at the 2020 Olympics. Why is it important to represent for your home country?

A: The Olympics are the pinnacle of international boxing. To become the first boxer to represent Somalia at an Olympics would be a hell of an underdog story and something that I've dreamt about for a long time. My mother, who has never seen me fight, has agreed to come. It would mean everything to me. It would truly mean the acceptance of who I am.

Q: How are you training for the Olympics?

A: My physical training preparation started 18 months ago, which is six days on and one day off. I train twice a day, so 12 sessions a week. My training program is periodized and works based on eight-week training camps. I spend my mornings focused on conditioning, either on a track or in the Altitude Centre, a room designed to replicate conditions at 2,500+ meters above sea level for improving my cardio capability.

My morning sessions will be working on anything from plyometric work to sprint training. My evenings are spent boxing. I have two or three technical sparring sessions a week which will be theme-based, working on my weaknesses with different training partners. In the lead up to competition, we will have one week which replicates the tournament structure (five days). My coach will line up three to five open sparring sessions across five days to make sure that I can recover and perform each and every day. Otherwise, I will be working on [things like] bag and footwork drills.

Recovery also plays a huge role in my training. I'll visit a physiotherapist, osteopath and sports therapist all separately once a week each to look after my injuries.

Q: You stopped and started, then stopped and restarted boxing. What kept you going?

A: My mother. I've traveled the world and met a lot of amazing people through my job, but I've never met a fighter like her. What she went through and experienced across continents as a refugee, with poverty in England. She experienced loss but still had the fight to continue and just kept pushing on, ensuring her children had a better life and education. That will never leave me. To complain and moan so often is a privilege the majority of our society don't realize they have.

Sometimes you have to bite down on your mouth guard and keep moving forward.

Disney is the parent company of ESPN and Good Morning America.

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