DUBAI: H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, attended key stages of the race during the Dubai Jet Suit Championship, the first event of its kind anywhere in the world, which was held at Dubai Harbour today.
Organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and Gravity Industries, the pioneer in promoting the sport of air racing, the event was held in cooperation with the Skydive Dubai Club and XDubai.
H.H. Sheikh Hamdan met with champion Emirati air racer Ahmed Al Shehhi and Richard Browning, Founder and CEO of Gravity Industries, before the start of the competition, and praised all the participants participating in the novel competition for having made history.
The stirring contest saw the British trio of Issa Calvon, Paul Jones and Freddie Hay making a sweep of the top three spots. The winners were crowned by Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council; and Nasser Jamal, representative of Imtiaz Real Estate Develo
pment Company, one of the sponsors of the tournament, in the presence of Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of DSC.
Issa Calvon won the title following the daredevil manoeuvres of the eight contestants that amazed the thousands of fans who had gathered alongside visitors to the Dubai International Yacht Show, besides millions of viewers on international television networks following the awesome spectacle of competitors zooming through the air using specially designed suits propelled by jet engines aligned on the hands and backs of the contestants.
The contestants represented various countries, including the UAE’s young gun Ahmed Al Shehhi, who had undergone several weeks of specialised training in Great Britain to meet stringent eligibility criteria set for those participating in the competition.
Hareb congratulated the winner, noting that the innovative championship had further enhanced Dubai’s position on the global sporting scene while creating history. He also congratulated Al Shehhi, wh
o etched his name in the record books as the first Emirati and Arab sportsperson to achieve the unique feat of participating in the contest that demands physical strength, supreme aerial agility, and tremendous adeptness with cutting-edge technology.
Hareb also congratulated all the other participants who had staked claim to be pioneers of a sport requiring courage and skill of a high order alongside the real-time synchronisation of human capabilities and technological innovations.
The eight participants were divided into two groups for the preliminary rounds. Each contestant had to manoeuvre through 12 traffic points placed along a 700-metre long race course. The best two from each group made it to the semi-finals. The champion was declared following a breathtaking final matchup.
Sponsoring the event were several Dubai-based, national and international companies, including Imtiaz Real Estate Development, Mai Dubai and Pocari Sweat.
Source: Emirates News Agency