Oman Sail’s youth sailing squad ended this year’s International Suleymanpasa Optimist Cup in Tekirdag, Türkiye with a top 10 place and four sailors finishing in the top 20. The team joined 274 sailors at one of the most prestigious youth events in the sailing calendar for five days of racing against teams from 12 nations including a strong local Turkish contingent and sailors from across Southern Europe, North Africa and West Asia.
Tamim Sulaiman Al Balushi, one of Oman Sail’s highest performing youth sailors this year, finished 10th, just ahead of teammate Saud Talib Al Shaqsi, team gold medallist at the 2023 Arab Games, in 11th.
Firas Haitham Al Nabhani, team gold medallist at the 2023 Arab Games, finished 16th, and Hood Saad Al Nofali, team gold medallist at the 2024 Gulf Youth Games, finished 19th. Khamis Nasser Al Mashikhi, gold medallist at the 2024 Gulf Youth Games, finished 32nd.
Boran Öden, from the host club in Tekirdag, won the gold medal with three wins from six races. Teammate Hayrettin Eren Çakir finished second with the silver medal and Georgi Karagiozov from Bulgaria took home the bronze; 33 sailors from Türkiye finished in the top 50, including five of the top 10 representing Tekirdag.
Abdul Aziz Al Shidi, Oman Sail’s Acting Director of Sailing, added, “We are very pleased with the progress our squad has made, especially against more experienced sailors. Participation in international events is an important step in our established performance pathway and provides our sailors with valuable opportunities to develop and gain experience in challenging conditions. We now look ahead to Mussanah Race Week and a strong finish to this season.”
Speaking about the team’s performance, Sultan Abdul Aziz Al Zadjali, Oman Sail’s Assistant Youth Head Coach, said, “Finishing in the top 10 shows the high standard of our sailors and our ability to compete internationally, while having four sailors in the top 20 points to the wider growth of youth sailing in Oman. The International Suleymanpasa Optimist Cup featured a large Turkish contingent and several sailing on their home waters, so to be able to end the event with all of our sailors in the top 50 is a very positive outcome.”
The next event in the calendar for the Optimist team is the 13th edition of Mussanah Race Week from 1-8 October 2024 at Barceló Mussanah Resort. Sailors from across the region will compete in Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes, as well as the Para Inclusive RS Venture Connect class, in one of Oman Sail’s signature events.
Preparations will begin shortly at Oman Sail’s Sailing Schools in Mussanah, Sur and Al Mouj Muscat to analyse the performance in Türkiye, work on technical and tactical elements and ensure the sailors are ready for the next challenge.
