Ironman Championship officially inaugurated

Manama, Dec. 8 (BNA): Under the Patronage of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship was officially inaugurated last night in an opening ceremony held at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). Featuring a line-up of sporting and entertaining events, the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship will continue until December 10, where the main competition; a triathlon race, will take place amid an overwhelming participation of world champions and athletes from Bahrain and GCC.. Attending by a large audience, the opening ceremony included several programmes, showcasing the prowess of the Kingdom in organising events at this large-scale. Commenting on this occasion, HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, broadly praised HRH the Crown Prince for HRH's kind sponsorship to sport and youth events, affirming that the Kingdom is proud at hosting an event of this level. "The Kingdom is ready and raring to host this event and give it the tremendous success that it deserves thanks to the highly qualified young people and managerial competencies we have at the Kingdom. We have proven our abilities to run international competitions at this level owing to the experiences we have here," HH Shaikh Nasser noted, stating that the Kingdom of Bahrain has become a hub for the triathlon sport in the Middle East on account of the success the Kingdom has achieved in hosting related competitions and performances shown by Bahraini athletes in this sport. "As we witness this event, we are taking a step forward in terms of the successes we have recorded in hosting Ironman events," HH Shaikh Nasser said, expressing appreciation to the Organising Committee members for their efforts.