(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Celebrity Olympic triathletes Lawrence Fanous of Great Britain, Rikigoru Shinozuka of Malaysia and Bahrain's Abdulla Attiyah will join more than 400 other athletes at the inaugural Doha Triathlon set to be held at the city's popular tourist destination the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) tomorrow, organisers said yesterday.
The one-day event will see athletes tackling a 1500m swim followed by a 40km bike dash to go along with a 10km run, an official with the organising committee confirmed yesterday.
The athletes will also touch base around the area next to Doha Sheraton during their cycling routine at the one-day event that starts at 6:30am and ends around half past 11:00am.
TricClub Doha in partnership the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF) and local sports marketing and management agency, Tasama, are working together to stage the inaugural edition.
Dr Mohamed Al Kuwari, President of the QCF, which governs triathlon in Qatar, said cycling and triathlon were enjoying an upward trend in popularity in Qatar.
"We feel very positive about Doha Triathlon and the potential for it to develop triathlon both locally and regionally. For both Qataris and expatriate athletes, the sports of cycling and triathlon are becoming increasingly popular in Qatar and we are keen to keep building on this momentum," Dr Al Kuwari said.
"The weather in Qatar is ideal for outdoor sport for a large majority of the year and the addition of an iconic race to our calendar expands opportunities for athletes and the general public looking for sports activities to participate in," he said.
Hatem El Safty, President of TriClub Doha, thanked the sponsors for helping put together the one-day event.
'Our club members are ecstatic with the addition of Doha Triathlon to their race calendar. We are thankful to all parties involved for making this event possible as it represents the pinnacle of what we enjoy a social sports event at an iconic venue," El Safty said.
Marouf Mahmoud, Founder of local sports marketing agency, Tasama, confirmed the number of entries had breached the 400 mark.
"We will have 400 athletes competing in the inaugural Doha Triathlon. More than 360 are home athletes who reside in Qatar," Mahmoud said yesterday.
Registration for the event was launched lats month with organisers claiming that seats were booked 'very quickly'.
"It will be the first time a triathlon of this scale that will take place inside the ionic MIA Park," Mahmoud said.
"Sport continues to be a growing sector across Qatar and we've established Tasama as a local agency with international expertise, to help stimulate this growth. "We're focused on the development of both local athletes and events and so we're really excited about the growth of triathlon in Qatar.
"Right across the GCC region, we've seen recent spectacular growth of active sports such as triathlon and cycling as people understand and see the benefits of active healthy lifestyles and so am sure the Doha Triathlon will be a spectacular success.
"We're sure this will be the start of a very bight future for the event and triathlon in Qatar," Mahmoud said.
Daniel Brown, Acting Director at MIA, said: The Museum of Islamic Art is one of Qatar's most important and iconic landmarks It has quickly become a destination for tourists and residents alike. The park comes alive every weekend and we're delighted to welcome triathlon to our growing list of community and international events.
'The triathlon team have ambitious plans for the future and we hope the event will grow in the years ahead and continue to welcome international visitors to Doha and the MIA.
The event promises entertainment by Red Bull and an expo area featuring Carbon Wheels Bike Shop, Oola Sportswear, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Riviera Hotel, and Sehtak Awalan. Support sponsors include Trinity Talent, Fraser Suites, Mannai Corp, Rayyan Water, FitQ and Mena Film Group will all also be contributing to make the inaugural event a success for all, organisers said.
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