Dubai: The UAE’s Marwan Al Marri climbed to the top of the leaderboard ahead of another four athletes at the end of the first week of qualifiers in the second Dubai Fitness Championship that got under way at various Fitness First Clubs in Dubai.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, this year’s competition is expected to be even more intense than the inaugural edition last year.
The preliminary rounds started last Sunday and after one week, it was Al Marri at the top of the qualifying standings after finishing the fitness regimen in a time of 12:11.22 minutes. Dubai’s Al Marri is followed by Hallvard Borsheim from Norway with a second-best time of 12:27.22 while the UAE’s Faisal Al Marzouqi with 12:53.18 is in third place.
Ross Gilmour from Scotland is in fourth with 12:54 and the UAE’s Saud Saif Al Shamsi, who was at the top of the standings after the first two days of qualifying, found his time of 13:58.40 the fifth best in the qualifying.
Launched by Shaikh Majid last year, the championship is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of exercise and health, while promoting fitness among UAE residents, especially Emiratis. The qualifying rounds will conclude on September 8, after which the best 36 in each category will feature in the finals to be held at a specially set-up circuit at The Dubai Mall from September 12-14.
“These times are only indicative as there are another two weeks of qualifying left,” Khalid Chookah, Championship Director, told Gulf News. “From experience, the real rush will be in the final week particularly on the last day.”
This year, the total prize money has been doubled to nearly Dh1 million with the winners in each category walking away with Dh200,000. Telecom provider du is the main sponsor while Dubai Sports Council is the official partner of the event.
