All set for Ironman 70.3 in Bahrain

Manama : At-least 100 professional athletes will compete in the Ironman 70.3 that will take place tomorrow.

Apart from the professional athletes, 900 other athletes are expected to compete in the triathlon. It starts with a swim, one lap of 1.9 kilometers at Bahrain Bay. Then it goes on to the bike-riding course that starts at Bahrain Bay and through the city, and then back to Bahrain Bay, covering 90 kilometers. The end of the race will be with a four loop run course of 21 kilometers. 

“We have over 1000 athletes, around 8 to 10 per cent of them are professional athletes. The toughest part of the race could be the bike course if it’s windy. We will see,” said Erwin Dokter, Regional Director of South Europe and Middle East at Ironman during a press conference yesterday.

Pros are ready

“I managed to get a good two months of training, it feels great. I come from a running background, I am a runner at heart, it’s my favourite discipline,” said Pro-athlete Emma Pallant, representing United Kingdom. 

Angela Naeth representing Canada said: “I am really honoured to be here and excited as well. I am just getting started on my season so I am really honoured to come to a championship race,” said Angela Naeth, representing Canada.

 “I had a broken foot in December and I underwent surgery. So I was out of the race scene for a while. Now I am very eager to get back into it. I have a lot of fire in my belly, so I hope it will be good,” she said. The competition also comes with Ironkids, a 2.2 km race for kids. 

Sports tourism

“Sports tourism will ‘boost the economy,” said Hesham Hamza Al Saken, Director of Tourism Facilities and Services at Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority. 

“We are very proud to be part of this event. Any event that adds value to the Kingdom of Bahrain helps us to position and market the country. Sports tourism is a priority, It is a must, It reaches our target visitors. Our target is to reach a massive audience from the sports world. We will always support events such as this. Anything that supports the economy, we are supportive of it,” he added.

Roads to be closed

SECTOR 1: The fast lane of King Faisal highway up to Shaikh Khalifa Highway will be closed from 6:30 am to 8:15am. Closing start point will be the financial harbour traffic light all the way until over-bridge junction.

SECTOR 2: The fast lane of Shaikh Khalifa Highway will be closed from 6:45am to 9:30 am.

SECTOR 3: Zallaq highway second lane and slow lane will be closed from 7:20 am to 9:40 am starting Shaikh Rashid Horse Endura all the way until Zallaq beach roundabout.

SECTOR 4: The fast lane will be closed from 7:30 am to 10:30 am starting Zallaq beach roundabout till Al Areen Traffic Light. The traffic will be diverted from Al Areen traffic light towards Zallaq.

SECTOR 5: The road from Al Areen Traffic till junction on zallaq highway will be completely closed from 7:50 to 11:05. Traffic will be diverted from Al Areen Traffic Light towards zallaq.

SECTOR 6: The slow land and the second lane will be fully closed starting from zallaq highway junction all the way up to Shaikh Rashed Horse Endure will be closed from 8:00 am to 11:10 am. Cars can go to the highway after the u turn at shaikh rashed horse endura traffic light. 

SECTOR 7: Shaikh Khalifa Highway fast lane will be closed from 8:05 am to 12:30 pm.

SECTOR 8: The road will be closed from starting point of Muharraq highway until traffic light near Sheraton hotel from 8:40 am to 12:30 pm. There will be manual control of the traffic light