Faris al Sultan, the Al Ain-based triathlete, will spearhead the four-strong Abu Dhabi team at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii tomorrow.
Al Sultan won the World Championship in 2005 and finished in third place in 2004 and 2006. The German is the founder of the Team Abu Dhabi Triathlon and he will captain a quartet that features Australia's Pete Jacobs, Germany's Andi Bocherer and the UK's Rachel Joyce. The event includes a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and a 42km run.
After suffering a stress fracture at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March, al Sultan, 32, is not over-confident. "First of all I will hopefully arrive in Kona without any health problems," he said. "So I think I can improve on my 10th place of 2009. "But you never know how the race will go. I'm not sure if I can repeat the victory of 2005 but my chances of getting under the top 10 are really solid.
"My running has improved, compared with last year and since I was only five minutes from top five and 11 minutes from first place in 2009 I hope to make up some places. My personal goal is a top-five result. Al Sultan has been preparing for the big event in California. "I started a good build-up in winter and spring in Al Ain," he said. "Unfortunately, I was injured in March. "I got back relatively fast after the stress fracture had healed but a seven-week break from running wasn't exactly beneficial to my training plan.
"Fortunately, I could swim and ride the bike. Two Olympic distance races brought me back into the game and they went well. My season highlight was winning the inaugural Ironman in Regensburg. "Last year I developed a training routine which I will also follow this year. Part of the routine consists of a challenging bike ride, as well as a long run with race-specific elements. "The uniqueness of this triathlon is that nowhere in the world is there a stronger starting field combined with the history and enigma of this event. Hawaii is 'the race' in long-distance triathlon."
Al Sultan plans to leave the island of Kona, where the event is being held, and return to the UAE to begin preparation for the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in December. "I will leave the island pretty soon after the race," he said. "It's not that I don't like it but I want to spend some time at home. "The following four weeks are recovery weeks and I will start to prepare for the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge.
"After we had to drop out in 2009, the main goal is to cross the finish line. As running through the desert, mountain biking, climbing and canoeing are the disciplines, I have to practice some of them more, to get used to all the equipment."
* Agency
Poacher
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
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What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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