Victorious team member Othman Al Awadhi was crowned as the champion of the endurance season opener, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sport chairman and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) honorary president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Al Awadhi clocked 4:33:50 hours and was followed by Fahad Al Khateri of Al Ruood (4:36:10) in the race that covered a distance of 120 kilometres. Masa Adnan of the Victorious team finished third in 4:36:16 hours.
Shaikh Nasser expressed his delight in seeing Victorious emerge as the winner of the race, pointing out that the team’s accomplishment confirms its high hopes and readiness for the new season despite the tough competition for top places. He also congratulated Al Ruood team on finishing second.
Pride
“We are happy with the level of excitement and competition featured in the season-opening races thanks to the presence of many top participants from Bahrain and Europe as well as other countries. To see 160 competitors in one race is a source of pride for us,” Shaikh Nasser said.
“All the participants tried to take a strong lead from the beginning. This has triggered a stiff competition among all the participants as evidenced by the frequent change in positions until Al Awadhi secured a narrow victory.
“The wide participation contributed to creating an exciting competition. This confirms that we will witness a great endurance season.”
Shaikh Nasser described the organisation of the event as “incredible,” thanking Breef and its president Shaikh Isa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa for the outstanding efforts they put together to make it a tremendous success, especially considering the fact that they conducted over 1,000 swab tests for the participants and members of the organising committees.
Shaikh Isa thanked Shaikh Nasser for his support and follow-up to the race, pointing out that his backing and presence contributed to making the season opener a huge success.
Present on the occasion were Supreme Council for the Environment vice-president Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid Al Khalifa and Breef endurance committee head Shaikh Duaij bin Salman Al Khalifa.