JEDDAH, 9 November 2004 — Ibrahim Ahmad Khalloufah, a Saudi triathlon champion, is all set to leave for Brazil to take part in the Red Bull Giants of Rio team relay event being held in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 5. “I’m confident of my performance, however what’s thrilling is the participation in this event,” Ibrahim, 24, a meteorology student at King Abdul Aziz University, told Arab News yesterday.
The international team relay competition is gathering four different disciplines for a one-day challenge — swimming, mountain biking, hang gliding and running. Ibrahim, who belongs to the Al-Ahli Club, is part of the Arab team that will plunge into the fray against over 80 teams from 30 countries, competing over the title of “Giants.” The Arab team will be facing athletic figures and national heroes in all the four disciplines.
The competition will not only be a challenge in terms of physical and mental demands but will also be an extraordinary experience set among the magic sites of the cultural melting pot which is Rio de Janeiro, he said.
Ibrahim, the short distances runner and member of the Triathlon Saudi National Team, will join Lahcen Ahansal in sand running.
Since his school days, Ibrahim has been participating in sports competitions and has achieved the results that enabled him to join the Triathlon Saudi National Team, which in turn enabled him to take part in several international contests such as the Abu Dhabi International Military Triathlon in 2002 and the British International Triathlon in 2003.
Ibrahim, who will participate in the running category at the Red Bull Giants of Rio, has several accolades to his credit. He was first in the Jeddah schools Triathlon (1.5 km and 5 km) in 1999-2001, second in Saudi Olympic Committee’s 3,000 m obstacles in 2001-04, lifted the Saudi Federation Trophy for running 3,000m obstacles in 2002, and also won the Saudi Free Championship 3,000m obstacles run, Kingdom Club Elite Championship and Saudi Federation Trophy for running 5 km marathon in 2003. He won the Jeddah University Marathon (6 km) in 2003-04 and was placed second at the 10th Eastern Olympic Marathon in 2004.
From the UAE, Mansour Abul Houl will challenge the Atlantic Ocean tides as he heads into a beach-breaking swim directly off the Copacabana Beach. The UAE’s 1998 Triathlon Champion will have to swim around 3 km off the shoreline in the open sea before reaching the two jumps from the cliffs at about 4 m high.
On the mountain bike, Maxime Chaaya from Lebanon will go for a distance of 45 km, through the narrow streets of the old town of Rio de Janeiro, up to Corcovado (704m above the sea), then downhill into the jungle of the National Park. Chaaya has a long list of local and international participations in MTB competitions. He clinched the podium at Kenya International Sports Safari for two consecutive years (2000-2001). Besides, his greatest achievements are climbing 12 of the highest mountains in the world such as the Mount Blanc in France in September 2001 and, more recently, Mount Cho Oyo in Tibet in December 2003, where he hoisted the Lebanese flag at 8,201 m.
When it comes to the sand running, Lahcen Ahansal will race his competitors along the beaches and the streets of Ipanema and Copacabana. The variation between sandy, concrete and asphalt conditions underfoot over the course requires an adaptable endurance runner. Lahcen seems to have no problem with those facts, as he has retained the champion title of the “Sand Marathon” in Morocco for seven consecutive years until now.
Hailing from France Laurent Thevenot, 20, will join the Arab team as a speed hang-glider who will face extremely demanding conditions especially at the starting location, down to landing point at Ipanema.
The event promises to be a challenge in terms of physical and mental demand, as also an extraordinary experience set among the magic sites of the cultural melting pot, which is Rio de Janeiro. “Red Bull Giants of Rio is the global RB event of this magnitude. For the first time, several countries are taking part in the creative process of an event that will not only consist of the competition in Rio but will affect the sports landscape worldwide by organizing national qualifier events,” Bassem El Zein, Red Bull Communication manager, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, said.
