The inaugural Arena Development Swimming Gala saw thrilling competition amongst more than 300 UAE junior swimmers for the prize of meeting Chad le Clos.
Ali Mohamed Ali and Aradita Sunder put in strong performances to clinch first place in the 12 years-old boy’s and girl’s categories respectively.
Tanish George and Salma Reda won the 11 years-old categories, while the 10 years-old honours went to Adham Sherif Jaseb and Yasmen Ossam.
The nine years-old categories were won by Fahd Ali Mubarak and Shakthi Balakrishnan. Mohamed Bin Fawzi and Thea Kadri won the eight years-old categories, while Utkarsh Gar and Haia Ahmed Ismail clinched top prizes in the seven years-old categories.
The lucky winners will meet their idol in a special meet & greet with Chad le Clos, Olympic champion and Arena brand ambassador at Atlantis, The Palm on Monday 3 November.
“To witness such drive and talent from so many young, local swimmers was overwhelming,” said Mohammad A Baker, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Gulf Marketing Group.
“All 300 participants should feel proud of their achievements and look forward to promising futures in the world of swimming.”
“I feel really happy because I love winning and I train hard. I liked this event because it was a good opportunity to compete and warm up for bigger events. I think Arena is a really good brand – I always use their goggles and caps,” said 12-year-old Ali Mohamed Ali.
The event saw representation from a number of schools and clubs from across the UAE including: Al Ain Club, Al Nasr Club, AL Wahda Club, Al Wasl Club, Baniyas Club, Cleopatra Sport Academy, Dibba Al Hasn, Dubai Dolphin Swimming Team, El Wasl Swimming Academy, High Performance Swimming Club, Prime Star Sport Academy, Sports Life Swimming Academy, Wave Swim & Sports Academy,
Chad le Clos will launch his new Arena CLC surf collection during Monday’s meet & greet.
The collection will be available from December 2014 at a select number of Sun & Sand Sports stores throughout the Middle East.
