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As we are preparing for the year, 2017, it is a must to review sports achievements made during the year 2016 which is coming to an end. This sports achievement review includes individual and collective ones as 2016 is considered a year of historical sports achievements, which reflects the huge care and attention given to the youth and sports sector by the Kingdom’s wise leadership.
Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) and the General Secretary of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC), His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is considered an ideal model and example that combines the efficiency of administrative leadership and the star hero on the grounds. His achievements made in these two areas reflect his outstanding leadership character which makes the BOC proud of his leadership to it in particular and to the youth and sports movement in the kingdom in general.
In November, 2016, Shaikh Nasser was awarded with the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) medal for his outstanding efforts at the administration level. The medal, which is the highest honour given by ANOC, was presented to Shaikh Nasser by President of ANOC, Shaikh Ahmed Al Fahad Al Sabah during a special ceremony held in Doha.
Shaikh Nasser expressed his pride over winning this high Olympic medal, considering this award as a tribute to all athletes in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the GCC countries and a new incentive for more successes by athletes in the coming years.
In the same month, Shaikh Nasser was among the winners of the “Arab Social Media Influencers Awards” for using social media to incentivize youth. The ceremony was held on the sidelines of the second edition of the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS), held at Dubai World Trade Centre. Shaikh Nasser was rewarded by UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
In the field of horse endurance, Shaikh Nasser clinched the greatest achievement at this sport as he managed to achieve the third place in the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships recently concluded in Slovakia, and the first place among Arab participants. Around 140 participants various countries of the world took part in this global event. Shaikh Nasser managed to finish the events’ distance, 160km, on his horse “Waterella” in 7:40:49. Bahrain’s royal team member, Raed Mahmood Ali, came in the fourth place on his horse “Polly”, while Spanish Joma Ponty won the first place in 7:38:47 and his compatriot Alex Lokooy came in second place in 7:38:51.
Shaikh Nasser led the Bahraini team to win a gold medal in the European Iron Man Championship held in Germany during August. This confirmed how creative and competitive Bahraini youth are in this sport.
He also managed to achieve the fourth place in the first round of the Triple Crown triathlon tournament which was held in Dubai and witnessed around 1,200 participants from around the world. Shaikh Nasser finished the race’s distance (113km) in 4:09:05 which was considered a new record. His Highness Shaikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced Shaikh Nasser’s place at the finish line.
Shaikh Nasser also achieved the second place in his age category in Abu Dhabi Race for Global Triathlon. The event saw the participation of a large number of world and top classified champions and amateurs. The event was highly competitive in the three approved categories; running, swimming and cycling.
Shaikh Nasser ended the race in (03:58:55). He finished the swimming category of (1500m distance) in 00:24:47, the cycling category (80km) in 2:01:31 while the running category (20km) in 1:28:16. This added to his record a positive result in this review after presenting good levels during the three rounds.
His Highness Shaikh Nasser achieved eighth place in the Iron Man Championship which was held in “Port Elizabeth” city in South Africa. This was a new achievement added to the Kingdom of Bahrain in this global tournament in which around 1200 participants took part. The total timing of His Highness was “10:49” hours, as he finished the swimming in 1:09:02, cycling in 5:16:28 and running 3:49.