Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,attended the Spartan Race, organised by X-Dubai of the Office of the Crown Prince of Dubai, at Jebel Ali racecourse.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and more than 5, 000 riders of different age groups and multi-nationalities participated in the event designed to test their limits and inner strength.
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid attended the race for more than an hour and spoke to the Crown Prince and some of the participants. They also briefed him on the objectives and stages of the race.
He expressed his delight and encouragement to such sports, which foster sports culture among the community, being an essential element for fitness, joy and happiness -- as well as foster a spirit of harmony and cultural rapprochement among various segments of the UAE community.
Among others present were Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, Director-General of the Protocol and Hospitality Department in Dubai, a number of officials and sports leaders.
The Spartan Race is one of the most competitive and exciting races.
It includes 16 various obstacles; containing trenches, walls, tires, water channels & ropes, which need strength, skill and flexibility to be surpassed. Other category of Spartan is allocated for children.
Gruelling obstacles
Hosted at Jebel Ali Racecourse, the challenging course was designed to test physical strength and mental resolve through a series of gruelling obstacles.
As ‘Title Sponsor’ of the infamous sporting event, XDubai in partnership with Spartan Arabia, created a course that was not for the faint hearted, with Spartans racing to the finish line through mud, fire jumps, barbed wire trenches and an 8ft climbing wall.
For those who were not able to complete a station, a penalty of 30 burpees was handed out on the course throughout the day.
The top three entrants dominating the female category for the Elite Sprint Race were Jordi Hernandez of the USA, Maria Jankowska from Dubai and Ariane Wymes from Abu Dhabi and for Super Race Amina Mhih from Abu Dhabi, Carolina Gutierrez from
Dubai and Ivana Kolaric of Dubai.
And last but definitely not least, the leading the male category were Sergey Perelygin from Russia, Brakken Kraker from USA and Tino Berninger from Dubai for the Elite Sprint Rate and for Super Sergey Perelygin from Russia, Marco Becerra from Abu Dhabi and Gregoire Rezzonico from Switzerland.
Both the Sprint and Super races had a prize fund of US$12,000 – a total of US$24,000.
Reflecting on the success of the 2016 race, Ismaeil Al Hashmi, Managing Director of XDubai said: “XDubai was launched to create a global capital for action sports in the Middle East, with a focus on community driven events, such as Spartan Race Arabia.
With record numbers of participants, from athletes to beginners, the Spartan Race is becoming one of the most anticipated sporting events of the season.”
Al Hashmi continued: “We would like to thank everyone who participated in the race today, and look forward to planning the Spartan Race Arabia Tour, which is kicking off in Bahrain on 1st April 2016.”
Rayyan Yacob Agha, MENA Managing Director, Spartan Race added: ‘’Once again we have been impressed by the number of people taking part from the region and further afield. The Dubai terrain offers a totally unique challenge and all the participants today can be incredibly proud of their achievements and we hope to see them return next time round.’’
The event also attracted families, with children between the ages of 4 and 14 years (grouped 4-7; 8-11; 12-14) challenging their inner Spartan.
Throughout 2016, XDubai is investing in creating facilities for sports fans to help develop their talent and as the World’s Best Obstacle Race Spartan is a vital part of this. The company was created to promote the development of action sports and athletes in the region.
(With reports from WAM)
