The busiest day of the first ever Schools Olympics ended on Monday with nearly 1,000 children packed into the Abu Dhabi Officers Club participating in 16 events.
With kids taking part in events ranging from gymnastics to fencing and from athletics to shooting, the second day of the Schools Olympics finished with a medal ceremony where children from the seven Emirates picked up their rewards.
Some notable performances were put in across the competitions including eye-catching performances from individuals such as the diminutive Mubarak Mohammad in swimming as well as Hoda Said in fencing.
After a difficult first day on Sunday that was disrupted by heavy rain, the second day went off virtually without a glitch, barring a broken arm for an unfortunate fencer.
Mohammad won the 25m backstroke event for under-12s boys comprehensively by nearly two seconds. Despite being comfortably the shortest person on the podium, Mohammad wasn’t overawed by the experience.
Mohammad, whose hero is Olympic legend Michael Phelps, would have been disappointed with anything but a win.
“It was fine, I expected to win and it all went as I expected,” Mohammad told Sport360°. “If I have a championships or something coming up then me and my trainer will train really hard coming up to the event so I’m ready for winning.”
In the girls’ under-12 fencing event, Said put in a composed performance to win gold. The three-day competition has been developed to help the UAE discover future Olympic talent and inspire a generation of children.
“I was completely focused and everything went exactly the way I wanted it to,” revealed Said. “I would love to continue doing fencing. I am thinking about going as far I can because I really like fencing. It gave me a chance to compete against people I would never normally meet.”
Away from the competitors, 21-year-old Amany Osama saw the competitors in the athletics from close quarters as a referee and has seen the good the event has done to the children participating.
“I think everything has gone really well, everyone – even the kids who didn’t take part – really learnt a lesson; it’s not about winning,” said Osama.
“It’s all about being there, getting involved, doing what you enjoy, that’s what this is all about.
“What was good was that the champions, after winning, made sure to check on each other and make sure everything is OK. This can be a long-term success.”
RESULTS
Shooting (points)
Girls 13-14
1. Mathaa Sultan Ali, Umm Al Quwain (188)
2. Sarah Abdullah Mohamed, RAK (183)
3. Mathaa Hassan Hemmed, Fujairah (180)
Gymnastics (points)
Spring floor
1. Mohamed saeed Yousef, Umm Al Quwain (16.9)
2. Faysel Khameis Salem, Fujairah (16.8)
3. Rabee Salem Rabee, Fujairah (16.6)
3. Hamdan Aref Mousa, Dubai (16.6)
3. Hamad Khalfan ELHassanie, Al Ain (16.6)
Vault
1. Mohamed Saied Youssef, Umm Al Quwain (13.65)
1. Hamed Obied Salem, Abu Dhabi (13.65)
1. A. Ibrahim Mahmoud, Sharjah/Sharqia (13.65)
3. Rabie Salem Rabieh, Fujairah (13.45)
3. Ali Salim Abdelrahman, Al Ain, (13.45)
3. Saied Ahmed Mohamed, Ras Al Khaimah (13.45)
3. Salem Hassan Salem, Ajman (13.45)
3. Ghanem Mohamed Moubarak, Al Ain (13.45)
Main
1. Mohamed Saied Youssef, Umm Al Quwain (30.55)
2. Hamad Obaid Salim, Abu Dhabi (30.15)
3. Abdal Aziz Ali Abduallah, Sharjah/Sharqia (30.10)
Swimming – 25m
Freestyle
Boys 11-12
1. M. Bader Mohamed, Ras Al Khaimah (00:14.85)
2. Zayed Abdallah Ali, Al Ain (00:15.95)
3. Dawod Suliman, Fujairah (00:17.30)
25m Backstroke
1. Mubarak Mohammad, Al Ain (00:19.65)
2. A. Hajy Yousef, Sharjah/Sharqia (00:21.52)
3. Abdallah Saeed Saif, Sharjah (00:22.23)
4x25m freestyle
1. Al Ain (01:08.76)
2. Sharjah (01:11.70)
3. Ras Al Khaimah (01:14.30)
25m freestyle
Boys 13-14
1. Mayed Ganem, Abu Dhabi (00:15.04)
2. H. Mohamed Obaid Sharjah /Sharqia (00:15.20)
3. Ahmed Awad Mohamed, Sharjah (00:15.52)
25m Backstroke
1. Mohamed Jomaa, Al Ain (00:16.88)
2. Ahmed Mohamed Khameis, Fujairah (00:19.96)
3. Abd Elaziez Mobarak, Sharjah (00:20.60)
4x25m freestyle
1. Al Ain (01:03.74)
2. Sharjah/ Sharqia (01:07.27)
3. Ras Al Khaimah (01:07.32)
Archery
Boys 13-14
1. Khaled Ahmed Saied, Fujairah (237)
2. Sultan Husain Abdoulah, Ajman (234)
3. Hareb Ahmed Darwesh, Abu Dhabi (222)
READ MORE:
– UAE’s inaugural UAE Schools Olympics get underway
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