Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, centre, won the gold medal in the men's double trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Getty Images
Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, centre, won the gold medal in the men's double trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Getty Images
Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, centre, won the gold medal in the men's double trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Getty Images
Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, centre, won the gold medal in the men's double trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Getty Images

Timeframe: When the UAE won its first Olympic gold medal


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE won its first Olympic gold medal 19 years ago this month.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, a sharpshooter, earned the accolade in the men’s double trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

In the shotgun-shooting sport, contestants aim to break clay discs that are fired into the air at rapid speeds. As opposed to traditional trap shooting, double trap features two clay discs being hurled simultaneously. Shooters stand 14.6m from the apparatus that fires the clay targets and are allowed one shot at each disc.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, a member of Dubai's ruling family, remains the UAE's only Olympic gold medallist. AFP
Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher, a member of Dubai's ruling family, remains the UAE's only Olympic gold medallist. AFP

The men’s double trap competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics comprised two rounds. The top six contestants of the qualifying segment moved on to the final round. Besides the UAE, shooters from Sweden, China, Germany and India took part in the final.

China’s Wang Cheng won the bronze medal and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore from India was awarded the silver.

Sheikh Ahmed’s gold medal win is particularly remarkable, given that he had only taken up the sport when he was 34, seven years before the 2004 Summer Olympics. The first Summer Olympics he took part in were in 2000. After becoming a gold medallist, he took part again in 2008. But because of a heart condition, he was forced to sit out the 2012 London Olympics and retired from the sport. However, he coached English sport shooter Peter Wilson, who secured the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.

Sheikh Ahmed is still the only Emirati athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics. The country earned a bronze in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro through Moldovan-born Emirati judoka Sergiu Toma in the the 81kg judo category, when he beat Italy’s Matteo Marconcini for the third medal.

HER%20FIRST%20PALESTINIAN
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Saeed%20Teebi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%C2%A0House%20of%20Anansi%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOutsized%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2016%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAzeem%20Zainulbhai%2C%20Niclas%20Thelander%2C%20Anurag%20Bhalla%20and%20Johann%20van%20Niekerk%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndia%2C%20South%20Africa%2C%20South-East%20Asia%2C%20Mena%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Recruitment%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20staff%20count%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2040%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeed%20and%20angel%20investors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPOPC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmna%20Aijaz%2C%20Haroon%20Tahir%20and%20Arafat%20Ali%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eart%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20amount%20raised%20through%20Waverider%20Entertainment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: August 11, 2023, 6:01 PM