South Africa’s first Olympic triathlon medallist Henri Schoeman and compatriot Richard Murray will compete at the season-opening ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi at Yas Island next year, it was announced on Monday.
Bronze at Rio
Schoeman, 25, made history at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when he took home South Africa’s first triathlon medal. He then went on to win his first World Triathlon Series gold medal at the Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, last month.
Happy to return
“I am very excited to return to Abu Dhabi and am keen to start the season on the podium, which means I will need to focus a lot more on my running,” Schoeman said. “One of my goals for the next season is to become one of the fastest runners on the circuit.”
Murray returns
Joining Schoeman on the start line for the March 3-4 event is fellow Olympian Richard Murray, whose training partner is two-time Abu Dhabi and reigning world champion Mario Mola. Murray finished second at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Triathlon in February before suffering a broken collar bone in April. He finished fourth at the Rio Games in August.
‘Simply spectacular’
Murray, who also participated in the 2015 Abiu Dhabi Triathlon, said: “Abu Dhabi is one of my favourite races on the calendar, partly because it is the season-opener and so helps me understand where I stand after the off-season training, and partly because it is one of the most scenic races; it’s simply spectacular. I am also excited to race on the new course and can’t wait to check out the Yas Marina Circuit.”
Event information
As well as the elite race which welcomes 130 of the world's top male and female triathletes, the event hosts an amateur race with a variety of course options to suit a range of abilities: Sprint (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run), Olympic (1,500m swim, 40km cycle, 10km run) and Maxi (1,500m swim, 80km cycle, 20km run). Visit www.abudhabi.triathlon.org for more information.
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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The%20stats%20and%20facts
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