BEIJING // As Obaid Ahmed Obaid dives into the pool today at Beijing's National Aquatics Centre, popularly known as the Water Cube, he will be representing a sport that has yet to really flourish in the UAE. Obaid, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Saturday, is competing in the men's 100m freestyle swim - but his qualifying time of just under 55 seconds is some seven seconds off the world record of just under 48 seconds set in March by the Frenchman Alain Bernard.
"We aren't expecting so much from Obaid - he's pretty good on the level of Arab swimmers but internationally he is not at the top," said Ibrahim Abdul Malik, the secretary general of the UAE's Olympic committee. "Overall it will take time before we really develop swimming as a sport in the UAE," The UAE is working on constructing an Olympic standard swimming pool, Malik said, a vital step in building a future for swimming in the UAE.
There are four swimming pools at clubs in Dubai, with an Olympic size pool at the Dubai Sports City and another in Abu Dhabi. "We need a couple of years to build a really solid foundation for swimming and prove this sport," said Malik. Swimming has proved an extremely popular Olympic event in China, with huge demand for places in the 17,000 capacity venue and a thriving black market in resold tickets.
tspender@thenational.ae
