Abu Dhabi: More than 90 youngsters from across the UAE turned out for the debut Abu Dhabi Kids Duathlon on Friday as they look to eventually follow in the footsteps of the world’s best, who take on the flagship Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on Saturday.
Racing part of the same course as the Ironmen, Olympic stars and world champions would do 24 hours later, the 93 kids — split between two age groups, 9 to 12 years and 13 to 16 years — put in a spirited performance.
The top boys and girls in the older race, which included a 300m swim and 2.5km run, were Germany’s Thomas Stamer, 16, from Dubai American Academy, and Lebanon’s Andrea Kasparian, also 16, from American Community School Abu Dhabi, who finished in times of 16 minutes 45 seconds and 18 minutes 55 seconds respectively.
Speaking at the prize-giving, which was hosted by Great Britain’s gold medal-winning Olympic triathlete and back-to-back European Triathlon Union champion Alistair Brownlee, Stamer said: “This was my first duathlon and I really had a great time. The track was really nice and it was really cool to meet Alistair. I’m definitely going to do more training for duathlon and triathlon in future.”
Kasparian dedicated her win to Arab professional elite athlete Omar Nour, who visited her school and inspired her to take part.
“When Omar Nour came to our school this week to do some training with us, it was so much fun that I decided to sign up for the Kids Duathlon. I’m so glad I entered,” said Kasparian, who was second out of the water in the swim.
In the younger category, which boasted 77 finishers, Canada’s Trinity Zdunich took the top girls’ spot, while Britain’s Rayhaan Guerni won the boys’ event. Zdunich finished 14 seconds ahead of second-placed Jasmine Gray of Australia.
The Kids Duathlon was introduced by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which is also behind Saturday’s $230,000 (Dh844,720) main event, to provide an entry pathway for the region’s budding triathletes and encourage healthy living.
Sultan Al Muhairi, Senior Event Management Executive at TCA Abu Dhabi, said: “The strength of today’s turnout and the support the kids received from friends, family and spectators really sends a strong message. The growth of any sport needs to happen at the grass roots level and we believe this event has helped create the green shoots for this future. It would be great to have one of the competing kids go on to be an Abu Dhabi International Triathlon winner one day. This is what it is all about.”
A record-breaking 2,050 athletes from 76 countries will take their marks for the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on Saturday, as world elites and first-timers go shoulder-to-shoulder for a shot at one of the sport’s richest prizes.
For those wanting to cheer on the competitors, a spectator TriZone will be staged on the Corniche East Plaza finish line.
