Oman Sail’s sailing team has concluded their participation at the 11th GCC Sailing Championships, held from 22-26 March 2022 at Messilah Beach in Kuwait, after claiming the highest number of medals out of all participating nations. The Omani entry is the first regional tournament for the young Optimist sailors, who were joined by experienced ILCA sailors to together claim podium seven positions.
Medals were won by: Hood Al Nofali, silver (Optimist U12); Tameem Al Balushi, silver, and Abdullatif Al Qasmi, bronze (Optimist); Nebras Al Owaisi, silver, and Elyas Al Fadhli, bronze (ILCA 4); Ahmed Al Bulushi, bronze (ILCA 6); Abdulmalik Al Hinai, bronze (ILCA 7).
Sultan AbdulAziz Al Zadjali, Optimist Coach, said, “This was a great performance from our young sailors in their first regional competition. We have worked hard behind the scenes to prepare them for the event and to return to Oman with so many medals is really pleasing. This is a very strong group of sailors and they will definitely learn from this challenge as they continue to improve and gain experience on the water.”
He added, “It is inspiring to see the youth of the country embrace the sport of sailing and reinforce Oman’s maritime heritage. The achievements of this very young Oman Sail team shows that the future of sailing in Oman is promising and that the nation’s youth is both highly-capable and highly-motivated to fulfil their considerable potential.”
The 11th GCC Sailing Championships featured a total of 57 sailors from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates raced over four days in five classes. The team will now return to Oman to practice and prepare for the upcoming IODA, taking place in Korea from 29th April – 6th May 2022.
