Triathlon test for athletes

Athletes are all set to put their swimming, cycling and running skills to the test this Saturday at The Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa in the annual Bahrain Olympic Triathlon.

The challenging competition, which has attracted participants from the around the world, is being organised by the Bahrain Road Runners (BRR) with support from marshals, the Bahrain Social Runners (BSR), the Ministry of Interior and the Traffic Directorate.

Last year, there were more than 500 athletes competing in the triathlon series which was sponsored by the Nasser Bin Hamad Foundation (NBHF).

Since then, NBHF has been extending full support to the event to increase awareness of  triathlons and encourage more people to take part in them.

Karla Solano, BRR’s public relations official, said: “Bahrain has been cultivating runners for many years. In fact, the BRR is an organisation that has roots dating back to 1972. Over the last three to four years, with the impact and awareness of triathlons increasing around the world, it has been a natural progression for many of the local runners to move on to swimming and cycling.

“Additionally, with triathlons being comprised of three disciplines allows people to take part as teams.

“We have many athletes participating from the GCC States including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and UAE. We also have athletes travelling from Europe as far afield as Amsterdam and Spain and others joining from Asia (Japan) and Australia.”

The series will kick-start at 7am at the hotel and will include a 1.5km swim, followed by a 40km cycle and finishing with a 10km run.

Bib pickup for the event will be at Organics Café in Seef Mall today and tomorrow. The race also features a cash prize sponsored by BMI Bank for the three top overall men and women winners. First place will receive BD60, second place BD40 and third place will be awarded BD25.

Solano said: “Contrary to what some may think, Bahrain offers great running scenery. It may be arid, but it has its own charm when you wake up early in the morning for a jog in the desert finishing with a swim in the sea. People in Bahrain love to run, because it brings us together and it turns us into better people.”

The BRR also announced that a contingency of athletes from BSR will be representing Bahrain at the Geneva Marathon for Unicef on May 4 in Switzerland.

The runners include BRR’s honorary president Shaikh Ebrahim bin Abdulla Alkhalifa, Shaikh Fahad bin Abdulla Alkhalifa, Emad Almoayed, Fahad Al Hassan, Mohsin Alsharif, Yousuf Althawadi, Khalifa Najim, Dr Mohamed Salim, Mustafa Fulad, Sayed Abdulraoof Alsada and Tawfeeq G Abbas Mohammed.

For details, visit www.bahrainroadrunners.com.