Announced the opening of the 15th edition of the largest global event of the game
Nahyan bin Zayed: The Abu Dhabi Swimming World Cup represents the best end to a busy sporting season in the fiftieth year
Nahyan bin Zayed during the opening of the World Cup yesterday.
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Yesterday, His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, witnessed the official opening of the World Swimming Championships and the Abu Dhabi World Aquatics Festival at Al Ittihad Arena, with the participation of 1,100 athletes representing more than 180 countries, in one of the world's largest swimming championships, and one of the largest sporting events. The world witnessed Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.
His Highness announced the official opening of the 15th edition of the World Swimming Championships for short distances (25 meters), in the presence of Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Head of the Department of Community Development, and a number of guests and heads of the continental and national federations.
In a speech on this occasion, after welcoming the delegations, His Highness said, "The Abu Dhabi Swimming World Cup celebrates the world's athletes and represents the best conclusion to our busy sports season in the fiftieth year, which witnessed the achievement of many important achievements and gains for Abu Dhabi's pioneering path in the world, and its distinguished role in attracting elite events and the best athletes to compete, and to confirm the prestigious position and advanced rank that characterizes Abu Dhabi as a leading global sports destination.”
The opening ceremony witnessed a simple parade, before starting to present the participating countries in the Etihad Arena, where the swimming pool was designed specifically for the big tournament.
On the other hand, national swimmer Youssef Al-Matrooshi will participate in the 100-meter butterfly race today, and he hopes to achieve the official qualification number for the World Championships, as he needs 20 parts of a second, and he will have another opportunity next Monday in the 100-meter freestyle race to try to reach the number qualification.
Al Matrooshi has a time of 53:35 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly race, while the qualifying record for the World Swimming Championships B is 53:15 seconds.
The first day of the competitions witnessed the participation of five star swimmers in the morning qualifiers, as many of them achieved the same previous numbers that were achieved in the Arab Championship last October.
The coach of the national team, Saleh Al Qubaisi, told «Emirates Today»: "The results that have been achieved bode well and came at the level of expectations, as participation in the world championship is part of the plan to prepare young swimmers for upcoming tournaments, including the Gulf Olympics in Kuwait next month."
He added, "The numbers are good compared to the average age of young swimmers, including the youngest swimmer in the national team, Ahmed Al-Marzouki (15 years old)."
Al-Samahi: We are looking forward to Al-Matrooshi's qualification today
The head of the Swimming Federation, Sultan Al-Samahi, expected a distinguished participation of the national team swimmer, Youssef Al-Matrooshi, today, in the 100-meter butterfly race.
In a press statement, he said, "We are looking forward to Al Matrooshi's qualification and achieving the official qualifying number."
He said: Yesterday we witnessed the participation of the national team swimmers: Sarah Okasha, Salem Ghaleb, Ahmed Al Marzouki, Mohammed Rashid, and Laila Al-Khatib, and despite their failure to qualify for the finals, their presence in a world event of this strength breaks the psychological barrier and gains them experience, which is a distinctive experience for them as young swimmers.
• Al Matrooshi is participating today in the 100-meter butterfly race, and he needs to achieve a time of 53:15 seconds to qualify for the official world race.
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