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Moroccan side RS Berkane won their second African Confederation Cup title in three years after beating South Africa’s Orlando Pirates 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Nigeria’s Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday 20th May.
Brahim El Bahraoui scored the winning penalty after Pirates keeper Richard Ofori, who had scored his side’s fourth spot kick, failed to save any of Berkane’s efforts.
Winger Thembinkosi Lorch turned from hero to zero as Pirates missed out on their maiden Confederation Cup triumph after also losing in the 2015 final.
He scored a bizarre 117th-minute equaliser to cancel out Youssef El Fahli’s penalty in the first half of extra time but had his effort blocked by keeper Hamza Hamiani in the shootout.
Hamiani was Berkane’s standout performer, producing some superb saves to keep his side in the game as Pirates looked the better side throughout.
Berkane lost on penalties to Egypt’s Zamalek in the 2019 final but won the trophy a year later. Another Moroccan side, Raja Casablanca, clinched the title last year.
Key saves
Hamiani kept out a low, angled effort from striker Kwame Peprah on 34 minutes before producing an even better save to smother a close-range effort from Deon Kavendji early in the second half, denying Orlando a certain goal.
He also comfortably collected a tame shot from Lorch, who was well-positioned to score following some slack defending.
Berkane, who rarely threatened, took the lead in the 97th minute when Pirates substitute Thabang Monare, who had just been on the pitch for a few minutes, clumsily stuck out a leg to foul an opponent following a corner.
El Fahli sent keeper Ofori the wrong way with a low effort as Berkane thought they had the match dead and buried.
But Pirates did not give up, with Tshegofatso Mabasa heading just wide from a corner before Lorch brought them level three minutes from the end of extra time.
After his initial effort was blocked by the defence, Mabasa collected the loose ball just inside the area and sent a stray pass that somehow eluded all defenders and found its way into the bottom corner past Hamiani, who had been unsighted by his own defence.
But Berkane had the last laugh in the shootout, converting all of their kicks, as Moroccan teams made it a hat-trick of straight Confederation Cup triumphs.
Local favourite Azaan Al Ruhmy became the champion of the 48th Muscat Open Golf Championship 2022.
Azaan set a new course record of 69 (-2 under par) on day 1, and then repeated this score on day 2, giving him a total score of 138 (-4 under par) and a victory by 10 shots from 2nd place Nasser Yaqoob (Awali Golf Club).
Another local favourite Badr Alaamri sealed third place with a score of 150. The leading junior in the gross category was Darsh Pawani with a score of 157.
It was a very proud moment as Azaan was presented with the trophy by. Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, the Minister of Energy and Minerals and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Petroleum Development Oman.
This was for the 6th time Azaan has won this tournament and he commented afterwards, “this tournament is the most prestigious golf event in Oman, if I can pick one tournament to win in Oman then it would be the Muscat Open. It was my first two back to back rounds in the 60s. I wish to thank the sponsors, the organizing committee and my family for all of their support”.
The net prize this year went to Tore Solberg (134) who was closely followed by junior Ras Al Hamra golfer Juan Moreno (136) and Salim Al Harthy (138).
Ras Al Hamra Golf Club Captain, Simon Walker commented, “Congratulations to Azaan on winning this coveted championship for the 6th time. The course is in superb condition due to the tireless work from our team. We were delighted to welcome such a high caliber of golfers to the club; golf is thriving in Oman and visitors are always welcome to our club which is the only floodlit course in the country”.
The 2022 Muscat Open Golf Championship was organized at Ras Al Hamra Golf Club on the 11th and 12th of March.
There was a full field of 92 golfers from Oman and the GCC who competed for the longest-running amateur golf competition in Oman and the GCC.
Prize Winners :
1st Gross & Muscat Open Champion Azaan Al Rumhy -4 (138)
Noureddine Morceli is an Algerian middle-distance runner and a gold medalist in the 1500 metres at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He won three straight gold medals at that distance at the World Championships. He also set world records in the 1500m, mile and the 3000 metres in the 1990s.
Morceli was twice the gold medalist in the mile at the 1994 and 1998 Goodwill Games, the Arab champion in the 1500m in 1988, the Millrose Games champion in the mile in 1992 and 1993, the 1500m winner at the 1994 IAAF World Cup, and the overall champion in the 1994 IAAF Grand Prix series. Besides, he was Algerian national champion in the 1500m in 1989.
In international competitions, middle-distance events include the 800 metres, the 1500 metres and the 3000 metres. In English-speaking countries, until the second half of the 20th century, the 880 yards and the mile were run as the equivalents of the 800 metres and the 1500 metres.
An early favourite among middle-distance races was the mile, which in the first half of the 20th century was run in times exceeding four minutes. Breaking the “four-minute barrier” was considered unlikely.
On May 6, 1954, however, the 25-year Roger Bannister of Great Britain set a record of 3:59.4 in a dual meet at Oxford. With increasingly controlled climatic and surface conditions and increasingly accurate timing devices, however, the record was lowered many times thereafter.
Birth and Career
Born on February 28, 1970 in Tenes, Noureddine Morceli attended Riverside Community College in Riverside, California, throughout his career, in winter, he would return there to enjoy the mild climate and train.
At the age of seven Morceli was inspired by his brother Abderrahmane, a world-class runner who finished fourth in the 1500 metres in the 1977 World Cup and represented Algeria at Moscow 1980 and at Los Angeles 1984Summer Olympic Games. Later, his brother would become Morceli’s coach.
In the early 1980s, Morceli came to idolize Said Aouita, a Moroccan who won the gold in the 5000 metres in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. By age 17, Morceli had taken second place in the 1500 metres in the World Junior Championships.
Morceli rose to athletic prominence after winning the silver medal in the 1500m at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Sudbury, Canada, clocking 3:46.93. A year later, he enrolled at Riverside Community College in California, renowned for its coaching and track facilities. He spent two years there, at the end of which he had run the world’s fastest 1500 metres for 1990.
At the age of 20, he was ranked first in the world in the 1500 metres. In 1990, he moved up to senior class and set the season’s best mark of 3:37.87 in 1500m. He continued this dominance into 1991, when he broke the world indoor record for 1500m at Seville, Spain on February 28, setting a new mark of 3:34.16. Only nine days later, on the same track, he won the 1500m title at the 1991 World Indoor Championships with a time of 3:41.57.
Throughout the outdoor season 1991, Morceli remained undefeated over 1500m. At several Grand Prix meetings, he ran times around 3:31. At the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Morceli was already a clear favourite for the 1500m and he won the gold easily setting a new World Championships record of 3:32.84.
In the beginning of 1992, Morceli ran a new 1000m indoor world record of 2:15.26. There seemed to be no greater certainty for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona later that year than Morceli. But prior to the Olympic Games Morceli lost unexpectedly to Gennaro di Napoli in Rome and David Kibet in Oslo. There were signs that he was not in the same shape as the year before.
However, in the Olympic semi-final he looked strong. The Olympic final was run at a woefully slow pace, with the field passing through the 800m mark in a slower time than in the women’s final. That was not the sort of pace to which Morceli had become accustomed, or that he was comfortable with, and when the frantic sprint for home began, he found himself unable to respond, eventually finishing a disappointing seventh clocking 3:41.70.
However, after just three days Morceli set a world season’s best in Monaco and a week later he broke his personal best to win in Zurich in 3:30.76. In September 1992, Morceli set a new 1500m world record of 3:28.86 in Rieti.
In 1993, Morceli narrowly missed his own world record when he won the Mediterranean Games in Narbonne in 3:29.20. By that time Morceli had set himself a new aim: to break Steve Cram’s eight-year-old record over the Mile. In Monaco, he narrowly missed the 3000m world record. There was even talk that he might skip the World Championships in order to concentrate fully on the world-record hunt. However, in the end he decided to take part.
At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, the final of 1500m started at a relatively slow pace, but Morceli was always in complete control, sprinting away in the last lap to win easily and retain his world title with a time of 3:34.24. In the following weeks, he failed twice to set a new world record over the Mile in Berlin and Brussels. But just two days after the race in Brussels he astonished everyone by crushing the record with a time of 3:44.39.
In 1994, he set the new 3000m world record, clocking 7:25.11. He also experimented successfully with the 5000m. In Zurich, he out-sprinted the rest of the field to take the victory and also won the 5000m in Rieti, Italy. Morceli broke the 2000m world record in the following season, setting a new mark of 4:47.88.
Nine days later Morceli set the last world record of his magnificent career, when he lowered his own 1500m record to 3:27.37 in Nice. Only a few days after this he almost broke the record again when he triumphed in 3:27.52 in Monaco. He easily defended the 1500 m World Champion title in Gothenburg. Shortly after, Morceli tried to improve on his Mile record in Zurich but did not succeed.
World Records
Standing 172 cm and weighing 60 kg, he added the outdoor world record for the 1500 metres in 1992, the mile in 1993, and the 3000 metres in 1994. By the end of 1994, the Algerian track star’s accomplishments had reached even greater proportions. In August, after breaking the outdoor world record for 3,000 metres (7:25.11), he could claim five middle-distance world records, which also included (outdoor) the 1500 metres (3:28.86) and the mile (3:44.39) and (indoor) the 1,000 metres (2:15.26) and the 1500 metres (3:34.16).
Morceli was named Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News in 1993 and 1994 and by the International Athletic Foundation in 1994. In that two-year period, he lost only once, at 800 metres. As he set his sights on more records, most notably the 800-metre, 2000-metre, and 5000-metre events, his driving force was a deeply rooted dedication to bring glory to his country. A devout Muslim, during the sacred holy days of Ramadan he would fast from sunrise to sunset despite the rigours of training.
As Morceli looked forward to the 1995 season, sportswriters unabashedly proclaimed him the greatest runner in the world or even the greatest of all time. Perhaps his spirit was best exemplified by his winning performance in the 1994 Grand Prix. Racked with flu, weakened and hacking, he not only ran but left the field behind at the finish.
Morceli was soon tested by a new challenger, Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj. Morceli bested El Guerrouj in the 1500 metres at the 1995 outdoor World Championships clocking 3:33.73; however, the 1500metres race at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta the following year was considered one of the most dramatic contests in athletics history.
Morceli and El Guerrouj led the field with 400 metres to go when the young Moroccan tripped on his rival’s heel and fell to the ground, allowing Morceli to capture the gold medal in that event. At the Grand Prix final in Milan later that year, however, Morceli lost the 1500metres event for the first time in years to El Guerrouj. Morceli competed in subsequent events, including the 2000 Games in Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, before his eventual retirement.
Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
At the start of the 1996 season, Morceli set a world season’s best of 3:29.50. However, a new and serious opponent suddenly appeared on the scene, when Hicham El Guerrouj won in Hengelo in a time of 3:29.51.
The 1500m at 1996 Olympics was the 23rd appearance of the event and one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. All three medalists of the previous edition, Fermín Cacho of Spain, Rachid El Basir of Morocco, and Mohamed Suleiman of Qatar returned, along with seventh-place finisher Noureddine Morceli of Algeria and ninth-place finisher Graham Hood of Canada. Morceli had been favored in Barcelona, and was again a favorite in Atlanta; he had won the last three world championships and broken the world record twice.
Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco was a rising star expected to challenge Morceli; he had come in second at the 1995 World Championships and would go on to win the next four and break the world record himself. Venuste Niyongabo of Burundi would have been another contender but chose not to enter in order to focus on the 5000 metres.
Burundi, Dominica, the Maldives, the Solomon Islands, and Ukraine each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most among all nations, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.
The competition was again three rounds (used previously in 1952 and since 1964). The “fastest loser” system introduced in 1964 was used for both the first round and semifinals. The 12-man semifinals and finals introduced in 1984 and used again in 1992 were followed.
There were five heats in the first round, each with 11 or 12 runners. The top four runners in each heat, along with the next four fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 24 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals, each with 12 runners. The top five men in each semifinal, plus the next two fastest overall, advanced to the 12-man final.
At the time men’s 1500 metres took place at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, the standing world record was 3:27.37, established at Nice, France on July 12, 1995 by Noureddine Morceli. The Summer Olympic Games record belonged to Sebastian Coe of the Great Britain at 3:32.53 established in Los Angeles, United States on August 11, 1984.
There were 57 competitors from 37 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event took place on July 29, 31 and August 3. The event was won by Noureddine Morceli of Algeria. Fermín Cacho of Spain was unable to repeat as gold medalist, but took silver to become the fourth man to win two medals in the event.
At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Morceli was under enormous pressure. The final was run at an average pace when his main rival, Hicham El Guerrouj, fell down on the final lap. Morceli accelerated and crossed the line first ahead of the defending Olympic champion, Fermín Cacho.
Morceli had dominated the 1500 metres for five years, holding the world record and winning the previous three world championships. But Hicham El Guerrouj, from neighboring Morocco was the rising star, who had chased Morceli in the most recent world championships. This was expected to be the match race. While Morceli had led the semi-finals in close to Olympic Games record time, the final race was much slower and entirely strategic.
Approaching the bell at the end of the third lap, Morceli had moved into the lead with El Guerrouj sprinting up to his shoulder. Morceli held him off with El Guerrouj having to concede position and move in behind Morceli squeezing in front of defending champion, master tactician Fermin Cacho who was perfectly positioned directly behind Morceli. Two strides later, El Guerrouj tripped and fell.
Morceli took off sprinting at the same moment the rest of the field had to evade El Guerrouj’s body on the track. Cacho was forced to leap over the fallen El Guerrouj, almost stepping on him. Next in line Abdi Bile had to jump off the track to the infield. Morceli opened up 2 metres in the process, which he widened to 5 metres down the backstretch.
Cacho and Bile held that gap onto the final straight. Bile faded while Cacho held on until he could see it was futile to catch Morceli, jogging in for silver. Stephen Kipkorir led two other Kenyan teammates around Bile to take bronze. After quickly staggering to his feet, El Guerrouj chased the field but shocked and disheartened, he was unable to catch anybody.
At the end of 1996, Morceli suffered his first 1500m defeat in four years at the hands of El Guerrouj in Milan. In the 1997 World Championships at Athens, Morceli was fourth in 1500m with a time of 3:37.37 and in 1999 at Seville, he qualified for his fifth straight 1500m final at a World Championships, where he dropped out at the bell while well out of medal contention. Morceli’s last appearance at a major international championship was at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney where he could manage only the 24th position with a time of 4:00.78.
Ambassador of Sport
His Personal Best performances: 800 metres – 1:44.79; 1500 metres – 3:27.37 at Nice, France on July 12, 1995; Mile – 3:44.39 at Rieti, Italy on September 6, 1993; 3000 metres – 7:25.11 at Monte Carlo, Monaco on August 2, 1994; 5000 metres – 13:03.85.
In January 2020, he was appointed Secretary of State for Elite Sport, reporting to the Minister of Youth and Sports in the new government chosen by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune after the presidential election of December 2019. Morceli has no political affiliation to any party in Algeria and was chosen as an independent member in the first Djerad government.
Currently, Morceli serves as an ambassador of the sport by assisting with the International Olympic Commission, the African Games, as well as assisting the development of young track and field athletes in Algeria.
(The author is an Associate Professor, International Scholar, winner of Presidential Awards and multiple National Accolades for Academic pursuits. He possesses a PhD, MPhil and double MSc. His email is shemal1216@gmail.com)
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has won the prestigious Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year award for a second time, it was announced on Friday.
The 29-year-old enjoyed a vote share of 48% ahead of Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and West Ham United’s Declan Rice to scoop the prize.
Elsewhere, Chelsea striker Sam Kerr also won the women’s Footballer of the Year award after another stellar campaign. The 28-year-old claimed the prize with 40% of the vote, beating Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema and Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp.
FWA chair Carrie Brown said: “Both Mo and Sam have been outstanding this season, breaking records for both club and country. As well as their performances on the pitch, they are leaders and standard bearers of excellence at their clubs and respective leagues.
“The fact they have won by such convincing margins underlines just how impressive they have been this season which has been recognised by our members.”
The UAE racked up five more medals on the final day to take their final tally to 17 at the Dubai 2022 World Para Athletics Grand Prix – 13th Fazza International Para Athletics Championships.
Noura Al Ketbi, winner of the host nation’s only gold in the women’s wheelchair F34 shot put, wrapped up with silver in an Asian record throw of 19.46m in the women’s club F32 final.
Algeria’s Mounia Gasmi (21.74m) won the gold and Al Ketbi’s teammate Thekra Al Kaabi (18.67m) took bronze at the Dubai Club for People of Determination.
“For us to win 17 medals and for me to be able to chip in with a gold and silver in that tally was a real good performance that we can be proud as a team,” Al Ketbi, silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, said.
“As the host of this championship, we were able to field as many as 50 entries, obviously with the objective of providing them the opportunity to compete at this level.
“Personally, it was a very good competition for me. I can take a lot of positives forward and continue with my preparation for the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou later this year.”
Colombia topped the list with 25 medals, made up of 12 golds, eight silvers and five bronze. Algeria, with 11 golds, four silvers, and one bronze, finished second. The UAE was placed 19th with one gold, 10 silvers and six bronze.
Sara Al Jneibi grabbed her second silver medal of the championships in the women’s javelin wheelchair F33/34/54 with a throw of 8.51m.
Algeria’s Asmahane Boudjadar (11.99m) took gold and Emirati Aishah Salem Al Khaaldi (8.49m) clinched the bronze.
Abbad Ali added another silver to UAE’s medals tally in the men’s discus F11/37 with an effort of 37.04m. Kuwait’s Hamed Ali (41.54) took the gold.
Marcel Hug broke the world record when winning the men’s T54 wheelchair 5,000m final.
The Swiss Paralympic star clocked 9 minutes 32.32 seconds to set his second world record in as many weeks after his effort at the Sharjah International Meeting.
“It’s amazing and I’m really happy with my form right now,” Hug said. “It was my goal to come here and break the world record.
“The conditions are always perfect here. Besides it’s a very fast track so I had a great chance to get a good time here. First, I did it in Sharjah and then here.
“The Fazza Championships has always been an important competition for me and I have been coming here for many years. It’s a good opportunity to see where I stand and where I have to improve in my training besides trying different tactics.”
World Champion Grand Master Fadi Al-Andari, receives the Cup of Arab Innovation and Excellence for the year 2022 in Cairo – an atmosphere filled with patriotism and international cooperation between Arab brothers, in order to consolidate human values. Under the supervision of the Afro-Asian Federation of Modern Cinema and the participation of the Arab Federation for Lebanese Physical Culture and the Royal Crown Club, in cooperation with the Middle East Institute for Development, Consultation and Development and the International University for Creativity and Human Sciences in accordance with the standards of the international program.
A group of distinguished and influential personalities in the Arab world were honored, within the framework of the great conference that was held at the Civic Education Center building at the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Cairo, in the presence of the best distinguished personalities in the Arab world: Professor Fawzi Al-Khodari, President of the Arab Federation for Physical Culture, Ibrahim Khalil Sharara, the Lebanese Consul, representing the Lebanese Embassy in Cairo.
They honored the Lebanese World professional Champion Grand Master Fadi Al- Andari, the legend in Muay , who was called “The Miracle of Sports, and who won the Innovation Cup and the Golden Medal of Excellence for 2022.”
Fadi Al-Andari won the title of “The Legend” in “Muay Thai” after his victory in the second round by “knockout” over the Thai player “Piset” who was half his age, also andari was suffering from a broken leg in the first round.
He was called the “miracle” in sports in the year 2019 after winning in a short time various awards of sports titles in natural bodybuilding that held in South Korea (WBPSF) after 24 hours of Muay Thai, WFF, martial arts and martial arts (WPKA, WML , WMO and WMF) championships. Major General Staff Harb Ahmed Zaghloul Mahran along with a group of public, artistic, sports and media personalities also attended.
They were headed by the able artist actor Samira Abdel Aziz and the journalist Abdel Rahman El Sheikh, president of the Afro-Asian Federation of Modern Cinema, Ambassador Dr. Reda Al-Senussi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Middle East Institute, Ambassador Dr. Samia Al-Sadiq, Dr. Raafat Al-Khamsawy, President of the Royal Crown Club, Dr. Dalia Al- Khodari, and Ambassador Dr. Safaa Al-Shawaf, General Coordinator of the Conference. The conference was held under the auspices and supervision of the Conference President, Dr. Ahmed Al-Shawaf, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Arab Journalists and Media Persons, and the President of the Arab Innovation and Excellence Cup Award Conference.
Yousef Al Refaie sets the record for reaching the top of the highest volcanoes on each of the seven continents.
A Kuwaiti mountaineer has become the youngest person to climb the world’s Seven Volcanic Summits.
Yousef Al Refaie has set a Guinness World Record for reaching the top of the highest volcanoes on each of the seven continents at 24 years and 119 days.
“[If] you came from the desert, I wouldn’t think you [would] be able to climb the highest mountains,” he said of his feat.
Mr Al Refaie, the 24th person to climb the peaks, began his journey as a tourist on December 30 2015 when he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
He then climbed Russia’s Mount Elbrus on July 18 2017, Mount Giluwe Mountain in Papua New Guinea on July 21 2018, Pico de Orizaba in Mexico on January 6 2019, Iran’s Mount Damavand on August 11 2019, Ojos Del Salado in the Andes on January 15 2020 and Mount Sidley in the Antarctic on December 22 2021.
He said the toughest was the 4,285m dormant Mount Sidley in Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land, one of the largest uninhabited areas in the world. It took the team seven hours to push from their camp at 3,000m to the crest of the caldera.
He said he had previously attempted to break the record for the fastest climb of the Arabian Peninsula’s highest peaks, but, as with other challengers, he was not allowed to enter Yemen.
Mr Al Refaie now wants to cross the largest deserts in the world, starting with the Empty Quarter in November.
“When I first asked my mum for the Guinness World Records Book as a kid, she told me she would only buy it if I had something amazing to make my way into it,” he said.
“I really don’t know if she meant it that time, but here we are living the dream.
Fartun Osman, the CEO and head coach of Girls Rock, an all-girls club founded in 2004 that promotes sport for Somali and Muslim girls, will be honoured by the NCAA with the 2022 Legacy Award for her local activism in the Minneapolis area.
The award ceremony is part of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Four festivities.
Osman is one of eight community leaders in the US to be recognized for her contributions to female athletics. She will be awarded a plaque during the semifinal games at the Women’s Final Four in Minneapolis on April 1.
Born in Somalia, Fartun Osman was a rare female basketball player in her native country. She was always active in sports and said that her first love was soccer but pivoted to basketball because of the lack of opportunities for women in the sport.
Osman traveled to other countries as part of the women’s Somali national basketball team as a teenager.
Following the breakout of the civil war in the early 1990s, Fartun emigrated to the US. She quickly discovered similar barriers to entry for Somali and Muslim girls into sports and made it her mission to make sports more equitable for girls who look like her.
She fought hard for the rights of her all-Muslim girl soccer teams to play with their hijabs, and her Girls Rock initiative has coached and mentored over 1,000 girls.
“The 2022 NCAA Legacy honorees are an impressive slate of community leaders and citizens who, through their daily actions, have shown their care and concern for their neighbors,” said Felicia Martin, NCAA senior vice president of inclusion, education and community engagement.
Egyptian swimmer Omar Hegazy broke two Guinness World Records last week after losing his leg in 2015.
The 31-year-old first broke the record for “longest distance swam underwater with one breath,” swimming 185 feet and 4 inches (or 56.48 meters). He then donned a fin and broke the record for “longest distance swam underwater with one breath with fins,” traveling 251 feet and 7.68 inches (76.7 meters), according to a statement from Guinness World Records.
Hegazy commemorated his accomplishments in an Instagram post, in which he thanked his friends, family and coaches for their support.
“Nothing beats the journey,” he wrote in the post’s caption. “Enjoyed every cold windy day in the pool. Enjoyed after midnight training sessions. Enjoyed the friendships and the unconditional love I saw in the eyes of my friends, family and coaches. Still hungry for more!”
Hegazy had his left leg amputated in 2015 after he was run over by a truck in a motorcycle accident, according to Guinness. He was 25 years old at the time.
Hegazy had to spend several more weeks in the hospital after the operation, learning how to complete everyday tasks. He eventually became interested in accomplishing athletic achievements of strength after reading about Dareen Barbar, a Lebanese amputee who broke the world record for the longest static wall sit. He also read about Faisal Al Mosawi, a Kuwaiti wheelchair user who broke the record for the fastest 10 kilometer scuba dive.
My source of motivation in the beginning was that I do not have much left to lose,” Hegazy said in statement to Guinness. “I only got into swimming because I was a very angry. I found a way to I let out my anger and frustration, but it was also where I felt really free and capable.”
In addition to breaking two Guinness World Records, Hegazy has achieved a number of other athletic milestones. He swam across the Gulf of Aqaba in 2017, completed in a 700 kilometer cycling challenge and climbed a mountain, according to his website.
“I hope these Guinness World Records titles inspire others and serve as a reminder that amazing is somewhere near you,” Hegazy told Guinness. “You just have to open your eyes wide.”
UAE team defeated Luxembourg, the hosts of the tournament, (8:1), at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Luxembourg, delivering an incredible win of the title.
The UAE national team scored a resounding victory over the Luxembourg team in their final match at the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship DIV III A.
The UAE team scored the full mark of 12 points after winning four matches.
Hamel Al Qubaisi, Vice President of the UAE Winter Sports Federation, dedicated the landmark victory to the UAE leadership, which he said had provided all support and assistance to the sports in the country.
Juma Al Dhaheri, captain of UAE Ice Hockey Team, said the victory is a result of tireless work for more than ten years to assemble a strong, competitive team.