2016 Olympic Day concludes

Manama : Bahrain celebrated the 2016 Olympic Day on Friday with thousands of participants and visitors flocking to the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir to witness a well-packed programme marking the occasion.

The concluding day of the two-week long event, organised by the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC), is celebrated all over the world on June 23 every year, but this year’s edition in Bahrain was held in advance as the original date takes place during Ramadan.

HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty the King’s representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman, BOC president and event patron, opened the start of the final day activities, in the presence of Supreme Council general secretary and BOC vice-president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Nasser, along with BOC general secretary Abdulrahman Askar and other high-ranking officials from the BOC and sports clubs and federations, toured the venue where a variety of activities took place.

“This occasion was a celebration for youth around the world to observe the Olympic values of fair play, perseverance, respect and sportsmanship,” said Shaikh Nasser. “Our purpose of bringing the event is to celebrate the three pillars of the International Olympic Committee: Move, Learn and Discover. It is also to share the international Olympic community its efforts in promoting the principles of Olympism and noble human values”.

The day’s main activities included a four-category running race as well as an open cycling race, organised in cooperation with Bahrain Road Runners and the Bahrain Cycling Association.

Other activities on the day included face colouring, a parachute airshow, karate and judo performances, best looking motorbike contest and children competitions and games.

The main attraction of the day was a running race, participated by 300 men and women athletes of different ages and nationalities in the fray.

Mousa Kareem won the men’s 19-39 age category race after a dominant show, followed by Abdullatif Ayat and Ahmed Joda in third.

In the women’s races, Zahra Mohammed (19-39 years) and Kizzy Price (15-18 years) raced to deserving victories in the respective categories held under warm weather conditions.

Bahrain’s national team cycling ace Sayed Ahmed Khalil captured victory in the 30-39 years race and was followed by Mansoor Mohammed and Yahya Aldeeb in second and third places respectively.

In the women’s division, Muneera Sameer came in first followed by Khulood Abdulaziz and Amal Sameer in third.

In a race for people with special needs, Noora Al Dossary came in first, followed by Yasmine Saad and Fatma Abdulrazzaq in third.

The day concluded with Askar honouring the winners of all the competitions, and thanked Al Khalaf International, Gulf Air and La Shish Restaurant for supporting this year’s Olympic Day, and all those who volunteered to make the event an all-round success.