Abu Dhabi: Arab triathlete Omar Nour has been racing against time to get fit for the first ever ITU World Series event to be held in the Middle East, but the Egyptian has admitted defeat in his bid to join a world-class field in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Despite his best efforts, the region’s first professional triathlete will have to rest his dreams for some time. A career-threatening ankle fracture has not healed completely, forcing Nour to pull out at the last minute.
“Who wouldn’t want to compete in front of home fans? It was something I was really looking forward to but, unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it,” said Nour, who got hooked on the sport at the age of 29 as he fought to lose weight, when he weighed 129kg and could barely move.
“I had a plate in there [his ankle] with eight screws and never thought I could run again. Thankfully, I have recovered and got back to training, but if I try to push myself for an early meet, it might jeopardise everything.”
Nour, who turned professional at 31 and is now aged 36, is aiming to be the first Middle East triathlete to compete in the Olympics at Rio next year, and that is one of the main reasons why he decided not to push himself into an early comeback.
“There are only 18 months left for the Games and, if I force myself into this one, then there is a danger that I might worsen the injury. It’s disappointing but that’s what sports is all about,” said Nour.
Of this weekend’s race, he added: “This is it — an event of this calibre coming to the UAE is an unbelievable achievement. It shows the vision of Abu Dhabi and the effort it has put to develop the sport.
“The best of the best triathletes of the world are here and the eyes of the world will be on Abu Dhabi. Clearly, the sport here has come a long way.
“Over the years, the focus has been on the kids and it is simply phenomenal. Now plenty of schools have joined the programme and kids are taking to the sport. TrainYas has a kids triathlon and every Tuesday Activelife gives you an opportunity to go to train at the Yas Marina Circuit, where you can cycle or run,” said Nour, who has made Abu Dhabi his home after seeing the facilities here.
Nour was of the view that the UAE capital is ideal for training, even though Boulder, Colorado, is known to be a hub for triathletes.
“I left Boulder and came here for two to three weeks and then found there is a right environment here to allow a professional like me to come and train,” said Nour.
“The weather is beautiful here in winter, but in Boulder it snows and you have to train indoors. People here say ‘Omar, winter is beautiful but what about the summer?’ But I feel these are excuses. We don’t get three feet of snow here, but yes we have hot summers,” said Nour, who sleeps in an altitude chamber to compensate for not training at high altitude.
“The main reason athletes train in Boulder is because of the culture for the sport and the high altitude. Training in high altitude helps you improve your endurance. It increases your red blood cell count.
“And for that I have an altitude chamber and I sleep in it — this morning I was at 2,000 metres. You have to make it work and there are alternative methods.
“The biggest difference between a professional and amateurs is the way we recover. We either go very, very easy or very, very hard. We use a hyperbaric chamber, which adds oxygen.
“Sleep is important and I have the same breakfast every day. Sushi is a great mix of carbohydrate and the protein in it is fish and you can try and replace white rice with brown.
“The beauty is, when you start doing something that the body is not used to, then things move really fast. You will see the difference quickly or the people will let you know the difference. All you need to do is hang in there. I lost the first 15kg in just three months.”
