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Parkour takes off in Doha - 26th August 2020
Parkour, also called free-running, has taken off in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The sport was developed in France in the 1990s. It was made popular by films such as James Bond's ‘Casino Royale’.
Parkour involves getting round, over and through urban obstacles by jumping, vaulting, running and rolling.
Parkour has thousands of fans worldwide, but outdoor exercise has only recently become popular in the Gulf States.
With gyms closed and masks required indoors, parkour fans have taken to the streets.
However, not everyone is happy about this, as South African Jaden Abrahams explains.
Abrahams: “No matter where you go in the world there is places where people will get mad, will tell you off and then there's places where you can just do it freely.”
Tunisian Achref Bejaoui now lives in Doha.
Bejaoui: “You know if you step on even the grass here, the security will ask you to leave, but I think now they get to know us because we keep coming here so they start feeling that we are playing safe, we are not doing anything wrong so I think it's getting famous, more and more."
Karam Chakachero has recently taken up parkour.
Chakachero: "I did my first back flip and I was like, okay, that's it, but then when I learnt it on the ground I was like, this is so cool! I want to do more.”
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