Dubai: The UAE finished second at the inaugural GCC games held in Manama which started on October 10 and ended on Saturday.
The UAE's total haul of 31 medals included five gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze medals. The country was represented by 117 athletes in the ten sports showcased over the week, which included football, handball, basketball, volleyball, athletics, cycling, table tennis, swimming, bowling and an overall disabled athletes' division.
Mohammad Abdullah Darwish led the charge for gold by claiming top spot on the podium in the men's Triple Jump with an jump of outstanding 15.92 metres.
Mahmoud Al Attar and Hussain Al Suwaidi struck gold in the men's single and men's masters bowling divisions respectively, and wrapping up the gold feast was Mubarak Al Bashir who claimed double gold in the men's breaststroke — 50 metres (29.80 seconds) and 100 metres (one minute 5.33 seconds) .
Silver lining
Athletes chalked-up silver in basketball, cycling (men's individual and team time trial), (athletics (discus, high jump and 4x100 relay), men's bowling (team) and swimming (men's 50 metre and 200 metre butterfly, 200 metre individual medley, 4x100 freestyle relay and 4x100 medley relay).
Bronze medals were secured in athletics (men's 200 metre, javelin, hammer and 10,000 metre walk), cycling (men's individual and team road race), swimming (men's 50 metre freestyle, 100 metre butterfly, 200 metre breaststroke, 50 and 100 metre backstroke, 400 metre individual medley, 4x200 metre freestyle relay), and football.
The GCC games welcomed over 1,500 athletes from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Through the games, officials and each respective National Olympic Committee (NOC) aimed to provide a platform for Gulf athletes and national teams to strengthen their performance and focus on their disciplines as a lead-in to the 2011 Pan Arab and the 2012 Olympic Games.
The UAE NOC has, meanwhile, launched its first-ever Official Mascot Design Competition. The competition, open to Emiratis and expatriates alike, calls on creative minds in the country to design two mascots (one male and one female) that will be the faces of the NOC's community campaigns and initiatives leading up to the 2012 Olympics.
These mascots will also be the official escorts for the UAE's athletes competing in the upcoming Pan Arab Games. Aside from the pride and accolade of taking the top spot on the podium for the winning design, the winning designer/s will receive a reward of Dh50,000. Submissions have been extended and now close on November 6. Winner will be announced on November 20th.
Overall plan
This is the first time that mascots will be used to represent the UAE NOC and is the first strategy in the NOC's overall plan to bring the UAE's Olympic spirit and dreams into every home. The mascots will be the ambassadors of the Olympic spirit and values, while embracing the culture, history, heritage and religious identity of the UAE.
The winning designs will be announced via Campaign Magazine. More information about the competition and detailed criteria, is available on www.campaignme.com/olympicmascot.
