Mike Ballard’s bid to compete at next year’s Paralympics in Tokyo has been handed a boost from a familiar source.
The former Abu Dhabi Harlequins rugby player is aiming to compete for the United States in the 200-metre kayak sprint at the Games, which have been postponed by a year because of coronavirus.
Since beaches were closed in the UAE in response to the pandemic, Ballard has been forced to get creative with his training.
He had been using a homemade static kayak, using resistance bands and raised on blocks of wood, on the balcony of his apartment in Al Zeina.
Now, though, he has been loaned a top-of-the-range kayak ergometer by a player he used to coach at Harlequins.
“For me and my coaching staff, we are hustling through it and trying to do it ourselves – but at the same time relying on the community, too,” Ballard, 35, said.
“Out of the blue, I got a text from one of the rugby guys saying he had something I might be interested in.
“It was something I’d spoken to with my coaching team as this being something I needed to get done.
“With not being able to get on the water, it meant that this really needs to happen now. [The homemade kayak] was an intermediate step until I got an actual erg.”
Ballard took delivery of the kayak ergometer on Sunday, and said “it feels like Christmas”.
The new piece of equipment had been in storage since it was used as part of a fitness challenge at an event related to the Special Olympics in the capital last year.
Dan Shields, who was a key figure in the Abu Dhabi Harlequins third team that won the third-tier of domestic rugby two seasons ago, had read about Ballard’s home training methods last week.
He knew that his event company, BSL Middle East, had two devices that might suit his former rugby coach’s needs.
“When I saw the article I thought it seemed silly for Mike to be doing that when we have a couple of these,” Shields said.
“We will use it for future events, but obviously at the moment the events industry is at a standstill.
“But I think my manager, Nancy Power, will be happy for Mike to keep using it until next year to keep his preparations going.”
Shields said he had no idea about kayaking himself, or the merits of the equipment he has passed on.
“When I initially contacted Mike, I said, ‘This may be helpful for you, or you might be better off using your homemade one’,” Shields said.
“I didn’t know anything about it, but Mike said it was ideal.
"The company we had ordered them from had said they had an association with previous Olympics, so I’d guessed it was quite good kit. I’m glad we could help.”
Ballard has only used a proper kayak machine once before, at a Team USA training camp in San Diego last year.
He said he had inquired about having one imported in recent weeks, but could not find one that his coach felt would be suitable.
“Since they shut the beaches down, I have been in touch with importers and exporters, trying to find certain makes and models,” Ballard said.
“My coach has actually shot down a couple of the ones that I would have been able to get shipped in here, but he was really pleased with this one.
“Now I’m excited to sit down with him virtually and over the phone, and come up with a training regimen.
“He’ll have a better idea about what training on an erg is like and what I should be doing.
“It is a very specialised piece of equipment. The only place you would see it would be at a high-end kayaker’s place, or at a kayaking club.
“That is why it was so unexpected to get one via a WhatsApp at the rugby club. I’m excited about it.”
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
New Zealand 15
Tries: Laumape, J Barrett
Conversions: B Barrett
Penalties: B Barrett
British & Irish Lions 15
Penalties: Farrell (4), Daly