Oman Sail celebrates two gold medals in GCC Beach Games
This achievement by Oman Sail athletes in the Oman National Sailing team was accompanied by two silver medals, two bronze medals and team silver in the Optimist team racing.
Abdullatif Al Qasmi notched two wins on his way to victory in the ILCA 4 competition, topping the table by three points. He also finished top of the Boys Fleet, where teammate Tamim Al Balushi finished third – claiming fourth overall.
Mohamed Al Marzooqi of UAE finished second and Marwa Al Hammadi third, finishing as the highest placed female sailor to win the Girls Fleet. Both Abdullatif Al Qasmi and Tamim Al Balushi were selected earlier this year to be part of the newly-formed ASYAD Sailing Team and compete in national, regional and international regattas.
Al Moatasem Al Farsi started and finished strongly with two wins in the ILCA 6 competition, finishing third overall. Teammates Al Salem Al Hamdani and Ibtisam Al Salmi finished 8th and 11th respectively. Othman Al Hammadi of UAE won three of the six races to take gold, while Dawood Sadeq from Bahrain finished second.
Hussain Al Jabri cruised to victory in the ILCA 7 race, winning four of the six races to win by five points. Adil Al Bastaki from UAE won the first race and secured second place, and Ahmed Al Sadiq from Bahrain won the last race to finish third. Hussain Al Jabri's four successive wins in between allowed him to claim the medal with one race to go.
Teammate Ali Al Saadi finished fifth, level on points with fourth place. Oman performed well in the largest fleet of the Games, the Optimist competition, with Khamis Al Mashaikhi claiming silver after three second places, Tarteel Al Hasani finishing third, and Hood Al Nofli finishing fourth.
Mohammed Al Qasmi finished 8th – second in the Junior Division - while Tarteel Al Hasani was the highest performing sailor in the Girls Fleet and Hadeel Al Mushaifri, 12th overall, finished fourth. These results earned Oman second place in the Optimist Team Racing. UAE took gold while Kuwait won bronze.
The team was led by Hashim Al Rashdi, Oman Sail's Head Coach of Performance, alongside Sultan Al Zadjali, Optimist Coach, and Ahmed Al Saadi, ILCA Coach. Hashim Al Rashdi, Oman Sail's Head Coach of Performance, said, 'The GCC Beach Games was a very successful regatta for our sailors. The medals, performances and improvement across the entire team was very pleasing and proof that our methods are working. The competition is always at a high level and gives our sailors valuable experience against their peers from across the region. We were especially happy with the team spirit and attitude displayed by the team who supported and inspired each other to put in medal winning performances.'
The 3rd GCC Beach Games was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, and the Oman Olympic Committee. The six-day event brought together 335 athletes across 46 events.
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