The Emiratis may not have smashed any records at the Hamdan Sports Complex this week, but national team assistant coach Mohamed El Zanaty believes his swimmers are ready to impress at the Arab Championship and Gulf Championship this month.
The 14-year-old Yousif Al Hosani and 17-year-old Yousif Omar were the only Emiratis to swim personal best times during the FINA Swimming World Cup in Dubai.
Al Hosani clocked 1:06.58 in the 100m medley, shaving almost a second and a half off his previous mark, while Omar boosted his chances of medalling when he swam 25.14 in the 50m freestyle, improving on his personal time by 0.2 seconds.
Mohammed Al Ghaferi, Mubarak Al Besher, Mohammed Jasim, Ali Al Kaabi – who recently returned from the Youth Olympics in China – and Yaaqoub Al Saadi, along with head coach Sergey Burkov, have all flown to Casablanca, Morocco, where they will be competing in the Arab Championship from September 4-7.
“The swimmers underwent heavy training in Italy and we haven’t tapered yet but we’re expecting good results in Morocco and Gulf Championship in Kuwait (September 11- 14),” El Zanaty told Sport360.
“Our targets now have become more clear. In the Arabs, we are hoping Al Ghaferi and Mubarak can medal there. If they medal in the Arab Championship it would be a very big achievement. Hopefully Mubarak can do well in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and Al Ghaferi in the 50m butterfly and the 50m backstroke.
“We believe they can make the final and win a medal. We’re gunning for three medals there.
“In Kuwait, we really want to top the medals table for the first time. Our best record there is winning six gold. If we win 10 or more gold medals then we can beat Kuwait for the top spot in the table and we really want to achieve that.”
