AL AIN // A 10km wheelchair race on the streets of Al Ain next month will be sanctioned by the International Paralympics Committee as a world championship race, the first time the Middle East has played host to a race of this calibre. Nearly 100 wheelchair-bound athletes from 15 countries will participate in the race, which is part of the Al Ain International Athletics Meeting beginning on February 3.
The defending race winners and current world champions, Prawat Wahorum, 28, of Thailand, and Sandra Graf-Mittleholzer, 40, of Switzerland, will participate in the race, which includes cash prizes ranging from Dh250 (US$68) to Dh2,500. A number of track-and-field events, including relays, shot-putting and discus throwing, have been added. The first two days of the championship will be at the Al Ain Club for the Disabled, which has undergone a major transformation including the building of a new stadium and track.
"The Al Ain Club for the Disabled has built new facilities for the athletes," said Abdullah al Kamali, the club's spokesman. "The inauguration ceremony will be held on February 3, the first day of the championship events." Since its establishment in 1997, the Al Ain Club for the Disabled had used the sports hall of the Centre for Care and Rehabilitation of People with Special Needs as a temporary venue. Then Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established new sports facilities next to the centre.
ealghalib@thenational.ae
