Shaikh Nasser leads to glory in Cairns

Manama 

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa congratulated over a telephone call yesterday, 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 Captain of Bahrain Endurance and Endurance 13 Elite Teams, HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa after coming seventh place in the 25-29 years age category, 45th male to finish and 53rd overall in the Cairns International 70.3 Ironman Challenge in Queensland, Australia yesterday.

Competing against over 3,800 international triathletes from across the world, Shaikh Nasser completed the full-distance triathlon challenge in 10 hours 5 minutes and 26 minutes, which comprised a 3.8km swim, 190km cycling and 42.2km run.

He finished the swim (59:55 minutes), cycling (5:30:45 hours) and the run (3:29:38 hours).

His Majesty the King expressed his sincere appreciation and pride of Shaikh Nasser’s global achievement and the improvement attained by the Kingdom of Bahrain in international triathlon championships.

On his part, Shaikh Nasser thanked His Majesty the King for his never-ending support for the youth and sports movement in the Kingdom of Bahrain, motivating Bahrainis to excel, win and compete in different sports arenas across the world.

Shaikh Nasser said the performance shown by the members of Bahrain Endurance and Bahrain Endurance 13 Elite Teams in the challenge proves the ability of the Kingdom to win more international competitions and attain recognised championships titles, adding that winning such contests promotes the name of the Kingdom in international sports arenas and described racing in Cairns as tough with the strong winds and heavy showers.

The first six in the age 25-29 categories were all Australians with Levi Maxwell (8:36:56) the winner, followed in second place by Joseph Cleasby (9:09:09), with Michael Harvey (9:12:57) third and Shaikh Nasser the first non-Australian coming in seventh.

The overall winner was Luke McKenzie (US, 8:18:00), followed in second by Cameron Brown (8:26:21) of New Zealand with compatriot Dylan McNeice (8:36:54) third.

In the women's category, Australian Liz Blatchford of Australia (9:11:48) came in first and 21st overall, followed in second by Gina Crawford (New Zealand, 9:20:55) and 22nd overall, with another Australian Michelle Bremer (9:35:31) third and 24th overall.

Meanwhile, Bahrain Endurance 13 Elite Team won the first places in both men and women half-distance triathlon races with a 1.9km swim, 90km cycling and 21.1km swim.

Team member, Sam Appleton (3:48.54) took first place in the men’s category and Caroline Steffen (4:19:40) dominated the women's category and finished 18th overall.