World Beach games – Qatar’s aquathletes step up

World Beach games – Qatar’s aquathletes step up

This past Monday, Abdulla BoShaheen Al-Kaabi and Fahad Al-Mohammed competed against the world at the World Beach Games Aquathlon, held here in Qatar at the Katara Cultural Village.

The pair were late selections but both athletes managed to get in some specific training and preparation before race day.

The event, which was 2.5 Km run, 750m ocean swim then another 2.5 Km run, was fast and furious in tough conditions where the sea temperature scraped under the ITU limit and, out of the water, high humidity prematurely ended the race for a few who got acclimatisation, heat coping strategy or pacing wrong. Mindful of representing Qatar for the first time on a stage this big, both BoShaheen and Fahad attempted to keep touch with the other athletes on the first run, outpacing their race-plan, then struggling at the start of the swim and final run. BoShaeen was the quicker of the two over the first run but was overtaken by Fahad in the swim but ultimately managed to re-pass Fahad before the finish.

Both athletes left everything out on the course, finishing in 25th and 26th positions in a thirty strong field. While the results were not what the athletes wanted, nor do they reflect what they are capable of achieving, far more important is the experience they gained of racing at this level and in a competition of this stature. The main results for them are the lasting impressions which, for sure, will change their training perspective and work ethic for the future.

Qatar National Triathlon Team’s thanks go out to Qatar Olympic Committee for hosting another world-class event, and Qatar Triathlon Federation with the ITU, for doing all the groundwork on this superbly well organized race.

Looking forwards, the athletes will be doing a mix of local triathlons in the Qatar Triathlon Race Series combined with a step up in distance at some of our regional Ironman events.

Photo credit for action shots: Ben Lumley/Triathlon.org. All rights reserved

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