DUBAI // Two Olympic gold-medallist swimmers will meet young competitors during a visit to the emirate.
South African Chad Le Clos and Tunisian Oussama Mellouli will chat with children on October 17 and 18.
Le Clos shot to fame after beating Olympic legend Michael Phelps to the gold in the 200-metre butterfly last year.
Mellouli is one of the best long-distance swimmers the sport has seen and the only person to win gold in both the World Championships and Olympics in the pool and in open-water races.
They are in Dubai to compete in the FINA Swimming World Cup at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Emirates Road, which also hosts a children’s event.
It is hoped the Olympians will inspire the next generation of stars.
The children’s competition features a range of races including 25m freestyle, 25m backstroke and 50m races in freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly.
Registration for the children’s events is from 5.30pm on October 17 and 2pm on the 18th, but advance entries are required for the 50m races.
Le Clos and Mellouli will attract huge crowds in Dubai and understand the impact that meeting a sporting hero can have on young aspiring swimmers, said Ahmed Al Falasi, president of the UAE Swimming Association and chairman of the organising committee.
“We are so pleased they have been able to fit these sessions into their busy schedules, as inspiring and motivating children to become involved in swimming is one of the major reasons we are bringing these international swimming competitions to Dubai,” he said.
The Dubai competition is the fourth round of the eight-leg World Cup series, which began in August in Eindhoven in the Netherlands before moving on to Berlin.
The Moscow leg will be held on October 12 and 13 before the Dubai event.
The competition will then move to Doha, Singapore and Tokyo, with the final in Beijing on November 13 and 14.
The event in Dubai kicks off at 10am on both days, with the finals being contested at 6pm.
ksinclair@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
