Event
Guinness World Record holders inspire crowds at Dubai International Boat Show 2022
The Dubai International Boat Show treated visitors to a host of motivating and inspiring talks this weekend, with two Guinness Book of Record holders and the first Arab women to dive at the North Pole taking to the stage at the Middle East’s largest and most popular leisure marine event.
Held at Dubai Harbour for the first time, the 28th edition of the Dubai International Boat Show featured a new Dive Talks section. On Saturday, Ahmed Gabr and Faisal Jawad Hashim provided insights into their respective journeys to becoming Guinness World Record holders.
Gabr, a former officer in the Egyptian army, holds the record for both the Deepest Scuba Dive and the Deepest Sea Dive after descending to 332 metres (m) in 2014. The 42-year-old remains one of only three people in the world to have dived deeper than 300m, meaning, “more people have been to the moon than to where I went”.
“To speak here at the Dubai International Boat Show is beautiful,” said Gabr, who also held the record until recently for the Largest Underwater Cleanup. “There are a lot of people here from all over the world, and to get the chance to speak with them and spread the message is great. I hope to come again next year and start talking about my new focus: restoring corals.”
Gabr said he would soon be looking for volunteers for a new coral restoration project, which he says could even occur in the UAE because of the country’s growing eco-tourism. “Doing it here is something we need to look at because corals are an important part of the economy of any country: fishing, tourism, preventing tides and water disasters, producing oxygen they really are of vital importance.”
Hashim, a paraplegic since losing the use of his legs following a car accident aged 20 and Saturday’s other headline speaker, holds the world record for Fastest 10km Scuba Diving after completing the distance in five hours, 24 minutes in 2018. The Kuwaiti’s time was almost an hour quicker than the previous record holder. His message to the crowd at Dive Talks was simple, “We must improve the way we treat people with disabilities in society.”
Hashim is also the organiser of the “Move To Improve” youth forum, which he says is the Middle East’s biggest show for People of Determination to demonstrate their talents. Held annually in Kuwait, Hashim, who enjoyed a strong turnout for his 45-minute presentation, revealed he hopes to bring next year’s show to Dubai or Sharjah.
“We want to show the world that people with a disability can do anything they wish,” he added. “Before my accident, I had a phobia of water; now I am a rescue diver. After my accident, I was once called ‘the slowest man in the world’. Now I am the fastest man in the world underwater.”
Sunday’s Dive Talks agenda features Mariam Fardous, the Saudi who became the first Arab female to dive at the geographical North Pole, and Yuriy Rakhmatullin, a Ukraine-born World Freediving Championships judge who has lived in the UAE since childhood.
Dubai International Boat Show ran from March 9-13 at Dubai Harbour, the event’s Venue Host.
A tactical ride from Mansoor Al Shedi aboard Nil Boy 16 ensured Zabeel Stables won the DIEC 101km Commemoration Day Cup for Private Stables at Dubai International Endurance City in Seeh Al Salam on Thursday.
Partnering the nine-year-old gelding, Al Shedi won the four-loop ride in a time of three hours, 25 minutes and one second (3:25:01), the pair going about their business at an average speed of 29.56kph, which was marginally faster than the average speed recorded by second finishing pair of Fares Al Mansoori and Al Tantawy, representing SS Stables, who completed the ride in 3:25:27.
Placing a distant third, with 3:26:53 on the clock, were Ahmed Al Marzooqi and Adrar, who competed in the colours of Al Qubaisi Private Stables.
Al Shedi and his mount were third at the end of the first loop, where the lead was secured by Anan Al Katheeri aboard Dakar who were quickest in the opening stage.
In a race that saw the lead change hands constantly, Khalifa Salem Al Ameemi of SS Stables took over at the end of the second phase aboard Ras Trovador. However, their elimination during the course of the third loop, left Al Marzooqi and Adrar in charge of the leaderboard.
Al Shedi had dropped four places during the second loop, but worked his way up from that seventh position he found himself at to reach second going into the fourth and final phase.
And as he turned on the heat, leader Al Marzooqi and his mount Adrar failed to keep pace and ceded the initiative to them with Al Mansoori and his racing partner Al Tantawy doing well to sneak into second with Al Marzooqi forced into the third and final podium spot.
Board Member and General Manager of Dubai Equestrian Club, Major General Dr. Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, presented the winners with their trophies, commenting: “It was a terrific effort from the winning combination to finish the way they did and I would like to congratulate the winners for their efforts. I would like to thank the stables for participating in the event and getting their horses and riders ready for this very important ride.
“We have a long season ahead of us that is going to be very exciting and we wish all of those involved all the very best for what lies ahead.”
The season at Dubai International Endurance City includes a series of top rides with the world-renowned HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Festival and Crown Prince of Dubai Endurance Festival, the two showpiece events on its calendar.
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