JEDDAH: A Saudi teen who picked up ice skating three years ago at a friend’s birthday party is now dreaming of taking part in the Olympic Games. “It all started at my friend’s birthday party three years ago where we ice skated and I fell in love with the sport. I started going every day after that. My mom signed me up for classes when she saw my love for the sport,” Malak Al-Shaya told Arab News. She said: “My mom was the one that encouraged me. At that birthday party, my mom and the coach said I was a natural because I just went for it.” She came 4th at the Houston Invitational 2020 in March. She said that she will work harder next year to win first place. The 13-year-old hopes to emulate the Russian figure skaters Elena Radionova and Alexandra Trusova who inspired her and even to get to the Olympics. “I’ll work on ice and off ice. I want to be like Alexandra Trusova, who makes it look so elegant,” she said. Gliding on the ice, Al-Shaya said she feels like everything is “magical.” The young figure skater is aware that the sport is not the most popular in the Kingdom, but she encourages those wishing to master it. “Just go for it. If you are willing to work hard you can achieve anything,” she said. She has received a lot of encouragement on social media to pursue her passion in figure skating. Al-Shaya’s mother, Eman Al-Damegh, shared her daughter’s love story. “At that birthday party, it was the first time Malak ever ice skated. After that, my kids used to ask me to take them ice skating every day,” she said.FASTFACT • Malak Al-Shaya won 4th place at the Houston Invitational 2020. • Al-Shaya started ice skating three years ago. • The teen’s coach says her speed is impressive, and it takes them years to teach a student to reach the speed that she is naturally able to control comfortably. She said that her daughter came from a background, which lacked the facilities for the sport, but was “a natural” straightaway. “She had never been ice skating before, she started it at such a young age. We used to live in Qassim where there were no ice skating arenas at all,” said Al-Damegh. She added: “The moment Malak set foot inside the rink, she just took off. I was so surprised, she didn’t hesitate at all, she was so daring that day. And there I was wondering what would happen on ice (before she started).” According to her proud mother, Al-Shaya has all the capabilities required for this sport and possesses the sense of daringness that skating requires. The teen’s coach told Al-Damegh that her daughter’s speed was impressive, adding that it takes them years to teach a student to reach the speed that she is “naturally able to control comfortably.”