Al Jasmi to make Tunisian stop on road to Olympics

Dubai: The UAE's Obaid Al Jasmi will leave with the national squad for a training camp in Tunisia later this month to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Al Jasmi is the only swimmer from the UAE to qualify for the Olympics due to the quota system stipulated by world governing body Fina.

The UAE swimmer, who will compete in the 100 metres freestyle, will be accompanied by national team coach Jay Banner at the Olympics.

One of the pre-requisites for qualifying was clocking a desired time at the 2007 Fina World Championship held in Melbourne.

"Obaid fulfilled that criteria without much difficulty," said Maria Moussievska from the UAE Swimming Association (UAE SA).

Al Jasmi will be part of a 30-strong contingent leaving for Tunisia for a two-month camp on June 18.

The UAE team are heading to the camp in preparation for the Gulf Swimming Championships to be held at the Al Jazira Club in Abu Dhabi from August 21-27. All seven Gulf countries have confirmed their participation for this competition.

The UAE squad include juniors being prepared for the 10th Fina World Swimming Championships 25 metres to be held in the UAE in April 2010.

Priority event

"Preparations for the Gulf Swimming Championships is very much a priority at the moment. Of course we are trying to get our best swimmers ready for the Fina World Championships in 2010," Moussievska said.

After Al Jasmi and Banner leave the camp in the first week of August, the UAE team will continue their camp under the supervision of assistant coaches Mahmoud and Ahmad Sami.

Meanwhile, preparations for the 2010 Fina World Swimming Championships have slowed down due to the UAE SA general elections scheduled June 26.

Ahmad Abdullah Al Falasi will be seeking a fresh four-year term as the president. His opponent is Obaid Khamis from Al Ain.