King's support to Triple Crown Ironman Championship praised

Dubai, Jan. 27 (BNA): HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, and HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of West Asian Athletics Federation, President of Bahrain Athletics Association, affirmed that the support of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, and HM's follow up of the Triple Crown Ironman Championship was key to boosting their motivation to achieve success in the race. They also valued the follow up from HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, on the Triple Crown Ironman Championship's first leg, where HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa spearheaded the Bahrain National Triathlon Team, which also included HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. The Championship comprised three contests; a swimming race, a cycling contest and a running competition. New Record The event saw HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa topping the GCC participants list, after grabbing an impressive fifth place overall, setting a new record of four hours and fifteen minutes. HH Shaikh Nasser completed the 1,900m swimming competition in 31 minutes before finishing the 90km cycling contest in 02:14 minutes. HH Shaikh Nasser then completed the 21.9km running competition in 1:25 minutes, while HH Shaikh Khalid finished the Championship in 6:43 minutes. "I am very proud with my accomplishment of first place at the GCC level and fifth overall. The event featured a pool of elite athletes headed by Bahrain Endurance 13 Team. The presence of top contestants was a source of motivation for me to push myself towards finishing the race in an advanced position," HH Shaikh Nasser said, adding: "It was very important for us to feature in this prestigious event owing to the fact of having great international athletes here, who gave their best to win." Amongst the Best HH Shaikh Nasser asserted that the Triple Crown Ironman Championship is considered amongst the best events of its kind. "I wanted to make up the misfortune I faced in the Ironman Middle East Championship," HH Shaikh Nasser explained. Moreover, HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa congratulated the Bahrain Endurance 13 Team after their athletes Javier Gomez and Daniela Ryf won the men's and women's category respectively. Gomez completed the race in 3:42:21 seconds, while Ryf stormed to victory in 04:01:09 seconds. HH Shaikh Nasser praised For his part, HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa hailed HH Shaikh Nasser on the occassion of this achievement in the Championship. HH Shaikh Khalid also praised the team, extending appreciation to the Organising Committee of the Triple Crown Championship which took place for the third consecutive time in Dubai.