Muscat: The 11th edition of Mussanah Race Week came to a close at the Barcelo Mussanah Resort with a battle for medals between 50 sailors from four countries in different sailing classes. The award ceremony was attended by His Excellency Sayyid Ibrahim Al-Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Musandam. After eleven rounds in the Optimist class, Elyass Al Fhdli took the gold from fellow Omanis Abdulhatif Al Qasmi in second and Tameem Al Balushi in third.
In the ICLA 4 Class, Othman Abdulkareem from the UAE finished first, ahead of Omani sailors Mohammed Al Qasmi in second and Nebras Al Owaisi in third. Al Muta’asem Al Farsi from Oman finished strongly in the ICLA 6 Class to claim gold, overcoming Abdulmalik Al Hanai and Ali Al Sadi in a close battle for second and third.
The first para sailing competition ever to take place at Mussanah Race Week ended with the crew of Adil Al Siyabi and Ahmed Al Shukaili coming back from an early disqualification to win the gold. The crew of Ali Al Ghasaini and Ahmed Al Harrasi came second overall while Hassan Al Lawati and Zahar Al Atabi got the third position.
Shaima Al Asmi, Mussanah Race Week Project Manager, said, “This was a fantastic return for Mussanah Race Week. With 50 top young sailors from around the world here to compete at such a high level, we are sure that the future of sailing is going to be very bright. We hope to see everyone here again in the future.”
She added, “The introduction of para sailing and the SailFree team has been overwhelmingly successful. We are so proud of our para sailors and look forward to seeing them develop. One of the main components of Mussanah Race Week is the social and educational aspect, where sailors from different backgrounds are able to interact and learn from each other on and off the water. This is such a valuable experience for everybody and we are delighted that the event was able to return this year.”
The event is supported by a line-up of supported including the national carrier Oman Air, OQ and the Barcelo Mussanah Resort as official partners, and Be’ah as environmental supporter. The National Mineral Water Company Salsabeel Water provided all essential water supplies for the event while the Royal Navy of Oman provided medical support throughout.
Oman Sail is a strong supporter of World Sailing’s ‘Back the Bid’ campaign to reinstate para sailing to the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, USA. The success of the inaugural para sailing event in Mussanah shows the potential of the sport to grow and for sailing to become inclusive across Oman and the Middle East.
A busy winter season of sailing continues in Al-Mussanah Sports City straight away with the the 2021 Asian 49er, 49er FX & Nacra 17 Championships. A fleet of 50 people from four countries across the continent and guests from around the world, including some of Asia’s top male and female sailors, including KC Ganapathy of India, Molly Highfield of Hong Kong, Dylan Whitcraft of Thailand and a strong team of Omani sailors, will look to gain vital experience ahead of the World Championships, also in Mussanah from 16-21 November, while competing for the title of Asian Champion.
