IRONMAN 70.3 Middle East Bahrain will be held today at Bahrain Bay under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.
The event will feature 2000 athletes from around the world.
On the occasion, His Majesty the King’s representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa thanked the Crown Prince for his generous patronage of the championship.
Shaikh Nasser said that he was ready to compete and would seek to achieve positive results in all the three races of the event – swimming, cycling and running.
“Am ready to take this new challenge and will do my best to achieve top positions in the championship,” Shaikh Nasser said while acknowledging the obstacles ahead of him in the event given the long roster of internationally recognised athletes who are taking part in the event.
“Bahrain triathlon team has been training very well for the championship and our team members are looking forward to achieving positive results,” Shaikh Nasser said.
Bahrain team members also expressed their readiness to participate in the championship under the leadership of Shaikh Nasser. The Bahraini team, and in particular Shaikh Nasser, hopes to secure a podium finish in the race. Shaikh Nasser will be the most prominent candidate for the first place after his achievements in previous championships.
Shaikh Nasser conveyed his best wishes for all the participants in the event, pointing out that Bahrain has become the home of triathlon sport in the Middle East. He also thanked all the ministries, companies and organisations that supported the organising committee.
Yesterday Shaikh Nasser witnessed the Ironkids competitions which were held on the sidelines of the event. Featuring in the event were Shaikh Nasser’s children Shaikha Sheema, Shaikh Hamad and Shaikh Mohammed, all of whom successfully completed the races. Shaikh Nasser later presented awards to the participants who completed the race, praising the performances of all the children who were part of Ironkids.
The organising committee had earlier announced the approval of the three-stage route of the championship. Swimming competition will be held in Bahrain Bay for a distance of 1.9 km, the cycling competition for 90 km, ending with a 21.1km running race. The track of the three competitions will pass by the urban, developmental and heritage sites in the kingdom to introduce participants to Bahrain’s growth, which is one of the objectives of the Ironman Championships.