MUSCAT: Oman’s Tamim al Balushi showed his potential at the 2024 IODA Optimist Asian & Oceanian Championship in Hong Kong, China, as he improved dramatically throughout, recording a second and two fifth places out of the nine races to finish in 10th place overall, just six points behind fifth place. Teammate Hasan al Wahaibi also performed very well, recording a first and fifth to finish in 13th place overall. In total, 133 sailors from 19 nations took part in the five-day event at the Clearwater Bay Country Club Marina. Fellow Oman Sail sailors Firas al Nabhani and Khamis al Mashaikhi put in strong performances, finishing 28th and 40th, respectively. Hadeel al Mushaifri finished 41st in the women’s competition and 98th overall. Hashim al Rashdi, Team Leader, said, “We are very pleased with the performance of the team.
To finish in the top 10 is a great achievement, and to have our four male sailors achieve placings in the Gold Fleet, and our female sailor compete in the Silver Fleet is very promising. All five members of the squad ended the event in the top half of their fleets, showing that they are progressing well on and off the water.” He added, “It is important to recognise that our sailors are all at different stages of their journey and competing in a strong fleet comprising more experienced sailors than themselves.
The impressive results we achieved in individual races show that our sailors are capable of reaching the level we are aiming for, and our next goal is to build up the consistency ahead of the upcoming events this quarter.” The 2024 Optimist Asian & Oceanian Championship was organised by the Hong Kong Optimist Dinghy Association and the Sailing Federation of Hong Kong, China, under the authority of the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA). Oman Sail’s Optimist squad have now returned home in order to take part in a training camp as part of preparations for the Winter Cup, the Admiral’s Cup in Thailand, and the 2025 Qatar International Optimist Regatta, all in February.
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