Ali Al Kaabi became the second Emirati in as many days to book himself a spot in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, after achieving a B-standard qualifying time in the 50m butterfly heats at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai.
Only 24 hours after Yaaqoub Al Saadi made history for the UAE by becoming the first ever swimmer from the country to swim a B-standard time for a major event, Al Kaabi defied illness and the pressure of expectation to make sure that at least two Emiratis would take to the pool in Nanjing this summer.
On the final day of the Dubai International Aquatic Championships (DIAC), Al Kaabi clocked 26.28 seconds in the 50m fly morning heats, to beat the B-standard time of 26.32 seconds needed to qualify for the Youth Olympics.
Al Kaabi fell ill on the eve of the DIAC and was forced to miss out on competition for the first three days, but the 16-year-old from Al Ain insisted he give it a shot in the 50 fly, and he did not disappoint.
“I’ve been sick and had a fever and I was going to miss the 50 fly, but I insisted I take part and I achieved my goal. I was worried to be honest because I wasn’t feeling well, but thank God it worked out,” Al Kaabi told Sport360°.
“I’m happy but I know I can do better than this time. I’ve asked the federation to give me a chance to swim in other qualifying meets so I can improve on my time. Hopefully I’ll be competing in Greece next month, where I’ll be targeting the A-standard.
“I’m aware I’ve done something historic for the country and I’m very proud of it but I still want to swim faster than the A-standard, which is 25.47 seconds. I know I can do it, it’s not out of my reach.”
UAE national team assistant coach Mohamed El Zanaty admits he was surprised that Al Kaabi had managed to make the cut despite being ill and says the focus now will shift to preparing both qualified swimmers for Nanjing.
“We didn’t expect Ali to compete to be honest, because he had a fever and was exhausted. But he pushed himself and he did it, which was beautiful to see,” said the Egyptian coach.
Meanwhile, UAE’s Mohamed Al Ghaferi missed out on the podium in the 50m butterfly by 0.21 seconds while Al Saadi placed sixth in the 100m backstroke final.
The men’s 400m individual medley was one of the most exciting of the day, with reigning European short course champion David Verraszto edging past Egypt’s Ahmed Akram and Dubai-based Georgian Irakli Bolvadze, who completed the podium.
The Hungarian ace and his sister Evelyn – a former European champion – were no strangers to the podium throughout the four-day competition, and David says it helps when his sister is around.
“I need someone to help me out sometimes and she’s always there for me.
“I’m her older brother but I’m a boy; you know how we are, so she makes sure I’m on top of things all the time,” said David, who is targeting gold at this summer’s long course European Championships in Berlin.
“We are so close in age, so we’ve been going to the same competitions and we train together as well in Budapest.”
