(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- The 2017 IKA Formula Kite World Championships opened at Oman Sail's headquarters in Al Mouj Marina on Sunday.
H E Dr Abdulmunim bin Mansour bin Said al Hasani, Minister of Information and H E Ahmed bin Nasser bin Hamad al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism attended the opening ceremony.
Reigning and former kite racing world champions are fighting it out on the waters off Al Mouj beach until November 24.
'Oman Sail has already staged a host of the sport's most prestigious events, including the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, the Extreme Sailing Series and the Laser World Championships. The addition of the IKA Formula Kite Worlds to that line-up chimes with its vision to project the sultanate's profile on the global stage,' said David Graham, CEO, Oman Sail.
The much-anticipated head-to-head battles will see reigning International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) Formula Kite World Champion, Monaco's Maxime Nocher, attempt to see off title challenges from France's Nico Parlier, the 'open' Kitefoil Class world title holder, and his countryman Axel Mazella, the KiteFoil GoldCup World Series victor.
In the women's division - raced separately from the men - reigning IKA Formula Kite world title holder, the US's Daniela Moroz, is trying to keep her nerve and ignore the expectation heaped on her.
The event is seeing 58 competitors - six of them women - from 22 countries and six continents. Daniela said, 'I'm really excited to do another world championship, but it's a lot of pressure. People have expectations of me now, so it's a bit stressful. But I'm trying to relax, listen to my gut, and tune it all out. The competition's got a lot hotter.'
Last year's runner-up, former world champion Elena Kalinina of Russia, will inevitably be a strong contender, but the French duo of Alexia Fancelli and Anaïs Mai Desjardins have been training hard with the men on their Enata team.
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