Alameda Triathlons, part of the Alameda o.n. Triathlon Team, has announced the staging of three sets of races in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, as the Red Sea town prepares to host the African Triathlon Union (ATU) Triathlon African Cup & Pan Arab Triathlon Championship on 1-2 April 2016, while also hosting the African and Pan-Arab Duathlon and Aquathlon Championships the following week on 8 April 2016 right in the heart of Naama Bay.
“As part of our partnership with the Arab Triathlon Confederation, we have been involved in more than one way to help raise the quality and awareness of triathlon in the Arab region. It gives us great pleasure to now be entrusted by the ATC, under the presidency of General Ahmed Nasser, with the organisation of an event of such scale and such importance, and we are grateful for such an opportunity to help in every way we can,” said Hassan Afifi, Team Principal of Alameda o.n. Tri Team.
Sharm El-Sheikh has hosted this triathlon every year since 2013, and it has now become a fixture in many triathletes’ diaries from across Africa and the Middle East.
The event is expected to attract nearly one thousand athletes from over 50 nations as the triathlon race will have Olympic qualification points in the Triathlon African Cup elite race in the lead up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Other significant official designations for the races are that all race categories will be Pan Arab Championships, in addition to the duathlon and aquathlon being the African Championships as well.
“We have created Alameda Triathlons to specifically assist the Arab Triathlon Confederation stage professional events on a large scale,” added Afifi.
“We have recruited the help of key individuals who have been involved in organising the triathlon event at the London 2012 Olympic Games, some of the top World Triathlon Series races, among other high profile triathlon and road cycling events in Europe. This is the kind of quality we want to get people used to in the Arab region, and this is hopefully the first of many top events we’ll be helping to organise in the region.”
Amateur athletes will have the opportunity to compete on the same course as the elite competitors in age group races. In triathlon, amateur athletes have the choice of competing in the super sprint (400m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run) or sprint (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) category, meaning regardless of their fitness level, they can take part and challenge themselves in this unique event before crossing the finish line in front of a great international audience.
The event will also offer athletes the chance to team up with friends and compete as part of a relay team. There will also be a range of different activities and workshops in the build-up of the three races. The duathlon race will consist of 5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run, while the aquathlon will be 750m swim and 5km run.
All event details and updates can be found on sharmtriathlon.com and more regular updates are posted on the event’s Facebook page. The full schedule for the 2016 Alameda ATU Triathlon African Cup & Pan Arab Triathlon Championships, and the duathlon and aquathlon events can all be found on the website. Registration is open until reaching capacity.
Alameda Triathlons is owned by Pro Tri Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, with original shareholders from the Middle East. The purpose of Alameda Triathlons is to organise and manage professional multi-sport events and races in the Arab region.
