Arabs & Arabian Records Aggregator. Chronicler. Milestones of the 25 Countries of the Arabic Speaking World (official / co-official). AGCC. MENA. Global. Ist's to Top 10's. Records. Read & Enjoy./ www.arabianrecords.org
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah won Qatar International Rally to record a 16th victory at his home event and achieve a stunning milestone of 80 wins in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) since 2003.
The success was a 28th for co-driver Mathieu Baumel in the MERC and his fifth in Qatar, while Al Attiyahs 80th success as a driver equaled the number of wins achieved last month by French legend Sébastien Loeb in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Oman’s Abdullah Al Rawahi was patient and stayed clear of trouble as chaos ensued around him. He and Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud were rewarded with a stunning second place in their Oman Rally Team-run Skoda Fabia R2 evo and a useful haul of championship points.
Andorra-based Ulsterman Kris Meeke and co-driver Chris Patterson led after two stages on Friday before rolling out of contention for the win in stage four. Meeke climbed from fifth to third during the final day and then overcame a damper issue on the final loop of three stages to regain third overall and the final place on the podium.
Merryhan Al-Baz’ has been taking apart cars and indulging her curiosity in the world of vehicles since she was 13 years old.
This passion for motors and engines, inherited from her father, lead the now 30-year-old to participate in the Diriyah E-Prix 2022 as a recovery marshal last month, becoming the world’s first female crane driver in race competitions.
“No one ever thought a woman could enter this field — the world of mechanics is a male dominated career. Fortunately, in my household, my mother and father always support any talents, ideas, or anything you desire to do,” Al-Baz told Arab News.
Al-Baz explained that there are four types of marshals at the E-Prix; fire, recovery, flag, and trackside. On the ground, authorities saw her capabilities and assigned her to join the recovery marshal team.
Recovery marshals must clean up the circuit immediately after an accident happens in order for a race to continue its course.
Al-Baz is a self-taught mechanic, with her educational background completely different from her career path. “I actually studied psychology and media in Lebanon, but I see myself in the world of cars,” she said. Al-Baz registered at an institute in Jeddah to receive a certificate to pursue her career in a more official manner. Her autodidactic reputation earned her a position as an instructor too, and she hopes that she will be able to open her own automobile repair shop in the near future.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Merryhan Al-Baz, 30-year-old Saudi woman with passion for motors and engines, becomes the world’s first female crane driver in race competitions. (Supplied)
Bader Al-Mutawa (aka) Bader Ahmed al-Mutawa. Professional Footballer. Athlete.
• Bader Al Mutawa has become the most-capped player of all time
• Striker passed the mark of former Egyptian defender Ahmed Hassan
• Kuwaiti has now played 185 times for his country
Kuwait’s FIFA Arab Cup™ qualifier against Bahrain is a hugely significant fixture, and not just because the winners will go to the tournament in Qatar. It was also the game that finally allowed Kuwaiti forward Bader Al Mutawa to become the most-capped player in the history of men’s football.
Earlier this month, during Kuwait’s unsuccessful attempt to reach the third round of AFC qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Al Mutawa won his 184th cap to tie the record of Egyptian legend Ahmed Hassan, set on 22 May 2012 against Togo.
FIFA.com looks back at the impressive career of Al Mutawa, who has finally surpassed his Egyptian rival and set a new appearances’ record for international men’s football.
Singapore start
On 4 September 2003, newly-appointed coach Paulo Cesar Carpegiani handed Al Mutawa his debut in a 2004 Asian Cup qualifier away to Singapore. It was certainly a bold move, partly because it was the Brazilian’s first game in charge, and partly because the player being entrusted with attacking duties was only 18-years-old.
But Al Mutawa, who began his football career as a goalkeeper with Al-Qadsia before moving up front, quickly repaid Carpegiani’s trust, scoring on his debut in a 3-1 win.
Five World Cup qualifying campaigns
Al Mutawa then helped Al-Azraq (The Blue) to the final phase of the 2004 Asian Cup. He would go on to feature at that tournament in China PR, as well as the 2011 and 2015 editions, but could not prevent Kuwait exiting at the group stage on each occasion.
Six months after his international debut, the 1.75 m forward played his first FIFA World Cup™ qualifier, against Malaysia in the Germany 2006 preliminaries. Once again he rose to the occasion, opening the scoring and helping his side to victory.
Al Mutawa was a fixture in his side for the South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers. He also featured in Kuwait’s unsuccessful bid to reach Qatar 2022.
Breaking new ground
When the AFC qualifiers for Qatar 2022 resumed earlier this month, Al Mutawa was still three games away from Ahmed Hassan’s record. He came off the bench for the Australia and Jordan games before starting their final fixture against Chinese Taipei, where he equalled the mark set nine years previously by Hassan.
That achievement was overshadowed by Kuwait’s Qatar 2022 elimination, which saw the veteran break down in tears in the knowledge that he would not be able to end his long career with an appearance on the world stage.
However, there was some consolation for Al Mutawa, with the president of the Kuwaiti Football Federation, Sheikh Ahmed Al Yousef, paying tribute to him before the team travelled to Qatar to face Bahrain. The 36-year-old then duly made history by taking sole possession of the record for most international appearances in men’s football.
source/content: fifa.com
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Kuwait’s forward and captain Bader al-Mutawa runs after the ball during the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup qualifier match between Bahrain and Kuwait at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, on June 25, 2021. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) / pix; the-afc.com / fifa.com
AquaFun, anchored in the Gulf waters alongside the JBR beach, has received a Guinness World Record certificate for being the world’s largest inflatable water park.
Launched for the first time in 2016, AquaFun has now expanded to three times its original size to reach 42,400 square metres. It currently forms the words ‘I love (heart symbol) Expo 2020 Dubai’, which can be seen from aircraft flying into Dubai.
It features over 72 obstacles and operates all year round. Prices start from Dh155 for an all-day pass ticket.
Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), said: “To secure another world record for Dubai during such an important event in our calendar, the Dubai Shopping Festival, is a moment of real pride for the city.
Ahmed Ben Chaibah, CEO & Founder of AquaFun, said the aim with the project five years ago was to enrich the Dubai Marina and JBR areas’ offerings.
Emirate bagged yet another world record in the final week of its shopping festival.
Yusuf Qaafow (born June 19, 1987) is a Somali professional basketball player.
At a professional level, he played for the Melbourne Tigers and then the Brisbane Spartans from 2009 until 2017, and has since been a basketball coach running his own academy called the Hard Knockz Academy.
Abdi was born in Somalia and moved to Australia where he began playing basketball at the age of 12.
He opted to represent his country of birth, Somalia national basketball team where he was born in 1987.
As a captain of the Somalia national football team throughout the 2010s, he has served as the nations longest served team captain thus far.
Qaafow has claimed that he aims to take Somalia back to its team high of 1981 when it won the bronze medal at FIBA Africa, or its stable period in 1992 when Somalia last took part at FIBA Africa before the imminent absent spell for many years thereafter.
Ibrahim al Salatni has broken the Asian record for free diving, clocking a time of nine minutes and 13 seconds. The previous record of eight minutes and 45 seconds was held by a Chinese national.
Salatni’s record was set at a tournament organised in Egypt held under the umbrella of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
Salatni’s success follows intensive training over five years and he now aims to be among the top ten free divers in the world.
Speaking to Muscat Daily, he said, “The event was held exclusively for me over two days on December 27 to 28 to break the previous record. I’m so happy to break the previous record. I dedicate this achievement to my country.
“It was not easy to set this record. Ever since I began free diving as a hobby in 2014, my aim was to achieve a record for Oman, and now I have achieved that goal. I am looking for even more.”
He also holds the national, Arab and continental records in static apnea – holding breath under water – of eight minutes and seven seconds, and the national and GCC record in dynamic apnea (dynamic with fins and dynamic without fins), diving 150m underwater in one breath.
Free diving is practised without the use of any breathing apparatus. “You dive holding your breath to save oxygen.”
His future plans include participating in the World Free Diving Championship that will be held in Bulgaria in 2022 where he aims for a podium finish.
Hannibal Mejbri was elected African revelation of the year by the magazine FootAfrica’s editorial staff
And this following over 469,00 votes.
“A rising star in African football, named after a Carthaginian hero destined for conquest, Hannibal Mejbri has developed several high-profile performances in the last twelve months, most notably reaching the final of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 in his national jersey (lost 0-2 to Algeria),” the magazine continues.
Voting results:
Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia / 18 years old): 55.64%
Adem Zorgane (Algeria / 21 years old): 35.88%
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso / 22 years old): 4.24%
Yazeed Al-Rajhi (aka) Yazeed Mohamed Al-Rajhi. Rally Driver. Saudi Businessman.
Saudi rally champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi has been honored for winning the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas title for the first time in his career.
The 40-year-old racer received his award during a prize-giving ceremony at the Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris, after becoming the first driver from the Kingdom to achieve the title in the highest rallying class, along with co-driver Michael Orr of Ireland.
The ceremony in France was attended by 800 driving champions, rising stars, and guests from around the world who saw Jean Todt, ex-president of the International Automobile Federation, hand Al-Rajhi the trophy.
Having claimed the title with Toyota Hilux, Al-Rajhi also thanked official sponsor Abdul Latif Jameel Motors for its unlimited support throughout the season.
His achievement was not only a personal one but also a landmark for Saudi motorsport, as he became the first driver from the country to be honored at the level by the FIA.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Yazeed Al-Rajhi is the winner of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas title for the first time. (Frédéric Le Floch/DPPI) / arabnews.com
Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been elected President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) following the FIA Annual General Assembly gathered in Paris , on December 17th, 2021
Mohammed Ben Sulayem of the UAE will be the first non-European president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), motorsport’s world governing body.
The 60-year-old Dubai-born former rally driver was standing against British lawyer Graham Stoker, who has been Todt’s deputy president for sport since 2009.
The FIA is the governing body for Formula One, the World Rally Championship, World Endurance, and Formula E among other series. “The votes are in and we’ve won. We are thrilled that 62% of all clubs have given us their vote,” said Ben Sulayem’s ‘FIA for Members’ campaign on Twitter. An FIA spokesman confirmed the result.
Bahrain’s representative, KHK team, were crowned champions of the Al Maktoum Cup 30-foot rowing race, organised by the Dubai International Marine Club at the Dubai Water Canal today.
Captained by Nakhuda Ahmed Nasser Al Busmait, the team were also winners of the previous edition of the most precious cup of the traditional Arabian Gulf rowing sport.
