A record 100 Emiratis are expected to participate at this year’s TriYAS triathlon event, which will be held over the weekend at Yas Marina Circuit.
Of the 100 UAE triathletes signed up for Friday’s event, 54 are women, also a record.
The Emiratis join a multinational mix of runners, cyclist and swimmers. Roughly 1,500 athletes are expected to compete.
“We are delighted that this fantastic and challenging event is engaging record numbers of Emiratis,” said Al Tareq Al Ameri, chief executive of Yas Marina Circuit.
Members of the Emirati team from the Awazen Wellness Centre and Abu Dhabi Tri Club were at the circuit earlier in the week to take part in a training session by reigning TriYAS champion Olivier Godart.
“We wanted to be a part of something that helped the UAE to become a fitter, more active place and to fight obesity and TriYAS is the perfect event to bring us together as colleagues and friends and to train together,” said Aysha Ali Bin Khalfan Al Dhahry from the Awazen female team.
New for this year is the addition of an elite wave of 12 professional triathletes who will be flying into the capital this week from around the world, a new triathlon event for kids expected to attract 150 children between the ages of 12 and 16, as well as a female-only category.
“Supporting events that encourage people to get active to improve their lifestyles and health is very important to us and we are very pleased that so many are engaging from our own community,” said Dr Michael Bitzer, chief executive of Daman, one of the events sponsors.
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