Olympic Gymnast Farah Ann Becomes The 1st Malaysian To Have A Barbie Modelled After Her
Barbie also made a special video with Farah Ann Hadi, featuring rare footage of her when she was young.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 10 Nov 2020, 05:13 PM — Updated about 4 years ago
We all know how badass national athlete Farah Ann Hadi is
Not only is she the first Malaysian woman to qualify as an artistic gymnast for the Olympics in 20 years, but she was also not afraid of shutting down unfounded criticism against her athletic attire when she was just 21 years old.
Farah tweeted this after netizens criticised her for not "covering up" during her performance.
Image via @farahannhadi (Twitter)In celebration of Farah's achievements as a professional athlete and national icon, Barbie has named her a "Shero" and created a one-of-kind Barbie doll for her
Barbie, a brand under American toy company Mattel, has been changing over the years by running campaigns that empower women, telling young girls that 'You Can Be Anything'.
To encourage young girls to get into sports and become future athletes, Barbie collaborated with Farah to create this special Barbie.
It is the first Barbie modelled after a Malaysian and it dons Farah's iconic silver-studded leotard in pink, gold, and white — the same attire she wore in the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur and 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
"I am very honoured to be recognised as a Barbie role model for young girls for sports," Farah said in a press release made available to SAYS
"I believe that all of us are capable of achieving our dreams and goals no matter what it may be. You just need to remember that self-belief is your greatest weapon in achieving anything."
Other than Farah, who is a seven-time SEA Games Gold and Commonwealth Silver Medalist, the company has also named these Malaysian athletes as Barbie Role Models:
- Nicol Ann David - World squash champion and advocate for women in sports
- Leong Mun Yee - Four-time Olympic Diver
- Shahlin Zulkifli - Ten-pin bowler and former Asian number one
- Anja Chong - Short-track speed skater and four-time SEA Games Gold Medalist
However, Mattel told SAYS that neither the Barbie doll of Farah nor other Malaysian athletes mentioned above will be available for sale.
"They are created in likeness to the model as a tribute and acknowledgement of the recipient as a role model for girls globally," a representative from the company said.
