The 2018 FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swim World Series’ last leg and the FINA High Diving World Cups have drawn more than 180 entries from over 30 countries at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club (ADSYC) at the breakwater on November 9 and 10.
Some of the top swimmers in fray are; the 2017 Men’s World Champion and 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist Ferry Weertman of Netherlands, the 2017 Women’s World Champion Aurelie Muller of France, and the 2016 Women’s Olympic Gold Medallist Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands.
The FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione was all praise for Abu Dhabi as a venue and their organisation of the event.
“Abu Dhabi has always been an excellent host to the participants,” he said. “The facilities here are excellent and we are looking forward to another memorable event.”
The 10km World Series event is hosted by Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), the UAE Swimming Federation in association with FINA.
ADSC is using the competition as a platform for inspiration by hosting an Open Water Community Swim for which swimmers of all ages and abilities can get involved.
“The Community Swim is a testament to Abu Dhabi’s vision to inspire the community to lead a healthy lifestyle, highlighting swimming as a great sport for fitness,” said Aref Al Awani, Secretary General of ADSC.
“To bring these events to Abu Dhabi gives ADSC the opportunity to showcase the capital as a centre for sporting excellence and inspire the local community to get more involved in swimming activities and aquatic sports.”
The competition will comprise of separate races for Men and Women, staged on Day-1 on Friday. In each of the events, world ranking points will be awarded to the swimmers depending upon their race finishing positions.
The race series include nine legs that take place in some of the world’s most scenic waterways across six different countries including the UAE, Argentina, Hungary, Canada, China and Hong Kong.
The High Diving World Cup will include two separate events on its program: a men's competition in two rounds and a women's competition in two rounds. The men will perform dives from a 27m platform and the women from a 20m platform.
The High Diving field includes international superstars: 2017 Men’s World Champion Steve LoBue of the United States and 2017 Women’s World Champion Rhiannan Iffland of Australia.
Sultan Saif Al Samahi, President of the UAE Swimming Federation, said they are delighted to host the event for a third successive year.
“Like many high-profile sporting events, the FINA events are now well established in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
“They are inspiration to our youth as well as draw swimmers of all ages and levels to participate in our Open Water Swim that takes place on the same morning on November 9.”
The community races will consist of a 1.9 km, 1 km, 500 m open water swim and 200 m splash and dash.
“There will be a full water safety team available around the course and all amateur participants will be granted a participation certificate,” added Al Samahi.
Those who want to register for the races can sign up online by visiting adsc.ae/events OR my.raceresult.com.
About FINA
The Fédération Internationale de Natation, founded in 1908, is the governing body for aquatics worldwide. FINA's five discipline Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo and Synchronised Swimming - are all included in the Olympic programme. High Diving made its first appearance in FINA events at the 2013 FINA World Championships. FINA counts 209 affiliated National Federations on the five continents and has its headquarters in Lausanne (SUI).
About Abu Dhabi Sports Council
Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) was established in 2006 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
ADSC is aligned to the emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. The Council promotes an effective, emirate-wide sports calendar that stimulates the desire to participate in quality sports among all Abu Dhabi residents and helps the talented and motivated reach their sporting potential.
The Council also hosts and supports the staging of international world-class sporting events, including the annual Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the Formula 1TM Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the ITU World Triathlon Series, the Abu Dhabi Invitational, the Gary Player Invitational, the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final, the Red Bull Air Race, the hosting of the Volvo Ocean Race round-the-world sailing epic, the Abu Dhabi Cycling Tour and the 2015 Nomura Cup.
We at ADSC firmly believe that sporting events deliver a host of benefits for the emirate and its residents. These span improved health and wellness, the building of community spirit, the discovering of local talent and the delivery of international exposure of the emirate as a world-class sporting events hub.
About the UAE Swimming Federation
UAESF is the national governing Body for the sport of swimming and open water swimming in the UAE, which raises the culture of aquatic sports by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education.
The main goals of UAE Swimming Federation are: To have more swimmers registered and coaches licensed, to strive for professionalism in the teaching of swimming activities, to prepare top athletes for major international competitions, to take all measures of prevention and repression of use of doping and/or drugs, to enable our swimmers to achieve excellence in the sport of swimming and in life.
