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Historically, Saudi Arabia hasn’t produced too many internationally successful athletes in the sports of swimming, cycling, or even running.
Never mind ones that combine all three, as in the Ironman.
The extreme climate conditions of the Kingdom aren’t ideal for the combination of these disciplines, but things are changing.
The triathlon bug is catching on across Saudi Arabia, with males and females seeing it as a way towards a healthier lifestyle and empowerment for their families and the wider community.
A leading practitioner is Mohammed Al-Marzouki who qualified for the upcoming World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with the fastest-ever time for a Saudi.
He secured qualification at Ironman Kazakhstan last week and is now looking forward to taking on the world’s best from Oct. 6 to 8.
Much of the credit for that must go to Will Clarke, founder and head coach of Riot Racing Club, who for several years has guided a group of Saudi athletes to great success off little or no base in the sport whatsoever.
The Al-Marzouki household has, in fact, two triathletes. Mohammed’s wife Raneem has recently embraced the sport and is now being coached by Riot Racing Club coach and pro triathlete Ruth Astle. Since taking up triathlon, she has gone from strength to strength, finishing her first 70.3 in Kazakhstan.
They also have three young girls who will look to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
Mohammed’s fellow Riot Racing Club compatriot and Vice President of the Saud Triathlon Federation Jude Jamjoom, said: “Al-Marzouki’s dedication and commitment are unmatched. Watching his growth and clinical precision in execution over the past few years has been fascinating. From training sessions, to strength and conditioning, to his fixation on macros and eating (clean).”
“It was clear to anyone that he had found his thing and that he was fully invested in ensuring that he continued to grow in the sport.”
In less than two years in triathlon, and from a limited background in any sport, Al-Marzouki, under Clarke’s watchful eye, has had a meteoric rise.
“Those unfamiliar with Al-Marzouki might think it’s simply natural talent but the reality is he was meticulous in everything he did, to the extent that we usually joked around with him and said that he had reached a state of obsession, probably because secretly inside we wish we had the same level of commitment,” Jamjoom said.
“He is a brother, a friend, a role model, an inspiration, and a testament that hard work, discipline, consistency and sacrifice do pay off,” she added.
At Ironman Kazakhstan last weekend, Al-Marzouki qualified for the World Championships with another well executed race, in particular using his talent on the bike to push himself up the rankings and finish with a new Saudi record over the distance.
With less than seven weeks to go until Kona, it’s time to recover fast and get back to preparation, according to his coach.
“I have worked with many athletes over the years but Mohammed is one of the most trainable and relentless of them all,” said Clarke. “Whatever I throw at him in training, he gets it done and can soak it all up and progress almost week upon week and the commitment is totally unwavering.
“He’s most obviously a very talented cyclist, in the two years I’ve been working with him he’s progressed more than anyone I’ve ever coached,” he added. “Our focus now is to turn around quickly from this last Ironman, and get him back in a good place mentally and physically. The race wasn’t perfect in Kazakhstan, we can still unlock some barriers before Hawaii which is very exciting because there are still many improvements left to be found.”
“Whatever happens it’s a hell of an achievement to make it to the biggest stage this sport has to offer, especially this quickly in his athletic career,” Clarke added.
“He’ll be pretty tired over the coming weeks but most of the work is done for Hawaii and it’s nearly time for the big dance which I cannot wait to witness firsthand.”
NEW YORK: Carlos Alcaraz defeated Frances Tiafoe in a gladiatorial US Open semifinal on Friday, setting up a showdown for the title and world number one ranking against Casper Ruud. The 19-year-old Spaniard triumphed 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 to become the youngest men’s Grand Slam finalist since compatriot Rafael Nadal captured the first of his 22 Slams at the 2005 French Open. Norway’s seventh-ranked Ruud earlier defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to also reach his first Grand Slam final. Tiafoe went down fighting, however, saving three match points and retrieving breaks in both of the last two sets. “We are in the semifinal of a Grand Slam, we have to give everything we have inside, we have to fight until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, the youngest US Open finalist since Pete Sampras in 1990. “It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting for five hours or six hours. It doesn’t matter, you have to give everything on court.” For Alcaraz, who unleashed 59 winners, it was his third successive five-setter as he closes in on a maiden Slam and becoming the youngest ever world number one. “It’s my first time in a final of a Grand Slam. I can see the number one in the world, but at the same time it’s so far away,” he added. “I’m going to give everything that I have. I will have to handle the nerves of being in the final of a Grand Slam but obviously I’m really happy.” Tiafoe hailed his conqueror. “I gave everything I had, too good from Carlos tonight,” said Tiafoe. “Honestly I came here wanting to win the US Open, I feel like I let you guys down. This one really hurts.” Alcaraz saw two break points come and go in the seventh game of the opener before needing to save a set point in the 12th which featured a breathtaking rally that the Spaniard claimed from two seemingly losing positions. The teenager saved three more set points in the tiebreak but Tiafoe converted his fifth when Alcaraz served up his third double fault of the 64-minute opener. Alcaraz saved a break point in the third game of the second set, at one stage stretching for a winning point with his back facing Tiafoe to win another memorable rally. His flamboyance was rewarded when he broke for 4-2 on his way to levelling the semifinal thanks to Tiafoe burying a return in the net. Alcaraz had needed nine hours and 10 sets in his last two rounds, including a quarter-final which finished at 2:50 a.m. Thursday, to reach the semifinal. However, he looked the fresher of the two men when he raced to a double break, 4-0 lead in the third set, allowing Tiafoe just three points. For good measure, Alcaraz broke the American a third time in the seventh game. World number 26 Tiafoe, who knocked Nadal out of the tournament in the last-16, was hoping to become the first American man in a major final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. He gamely retrieved two breaks in the fourth set, saved a match point in the 10th game with a nerveless drop shot before claiming the tiebreak to send the clash into a decider. It was an eighth successful tiebreak out of eight for the American. Alcaraz broke for 2-0 in the fifth set only for Tiafoe to again claw his way back to 2-2. The American, however, double-faulted to hand the advantage back in the fifth game. Tiafoe saved two more match points in the ninth game before Alcaraz went on to seal victory in four hours and 19 minutes when his opponent netted a weary backhand. Ruud will be appearing in his second Grand Slam final of the season after finishing runner-up to Nadal at the French Open in June. “After Roland Garros, I was extremely happy but at the same time humble enough to think that could be my only final in a Grand Slam in my career,” said Ruud. “They don’t come easy. So here I am a couple of months later — it feels beyond words to describe.” The 23-year-old Norwegian set the tone for his dominance early in the semifinal when he came out on top in a 55-shot rally to convert a third set point in the opening tiebreak which his Russian rival described as “crazy.”
WASHINGTON: South Korea’s Jeong-eun Lee6 fired a bogey-free 9-under par 63 to grab a one-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the LPGA Queen City Championship.
World No. 43 Lee6 birdied six of the first 10 holes in her low round of the season to stand on 13-under 131 after 36 holes at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“It was a good, bogey-free round,” Lee6 said. “It has been a while (since) I played bogey-free so I’m really satisfied with my game. Two more rounds, so I’m going to focus just on what I’m doing.”
China’s Lin Xiyu was second on 132 with American Ally Ewing third on 133 and Australian Sarah Kemp and Mexico’s Maria Fassi sharing fourth on 134.
Lee6, 26, won her only major and LPGA title at the 2019 US Women’s Open, the same year she collected the LPGA Rookie of the Year award. She was also a runner-up at last year’s Evian Championship.
Swing work has been a major part of Lee6’s preparation.
“I’m fixing my swing these days. I focused on my downswing. That’s why I finished strong,” Lee6 said.
“I’m still not comfortable with my swing but it’s getting better. I’m struggling (with) my swing but I gained confidence a lot from today.”
Lee6 birdied the par-5 second and par-4 fifth holes, then reeled off four birdies in a row starting at the par-4 seventh. She added birdies at the par-5 12th and par-3 14th and a final birdie putt from 20 feet at the par-4 16th.
Playing partner Lin, the 18-hole leader after an opening 64, birdied the first and last holes with birdies at the seventh and par-5 12th in a bogey-free 68.
“All I’m doing is trying to catch Six,” Lin said. “It was nice to play with her. We definitely helped each other out a little bit, staying aggressive.
“I feel like I hit it even better than yesterday. For the putts it (was) just little lip out here and there.”
Lin, making her 188th career LPGA start, seeks her first tour title. She had her best LPGA finish in March at Thailand, when she lost a playoff to Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen.
“It’s easier to be only one behind than a couple behind,” Lin said. “I wanted to have a little breakthrough this year, so I think the more times I got to knock on the door the better.”
Ewing made six birdies in a row starting at the second hole but a closing bogey dropped her two adrift on 64 while Fassi birdied five of the last six holes to fire a bogey-free 66.
“I’ve been able to have some shorter stuff into the greens and been able to take on some pins,” Fassi said. “As soon as I saw a couple of the putts go in, you just get a little more confident and the hole gets a little bit bigger.”
LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee on Friday said it had “full confidence” that France would ensure security at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Fears have grown over safety at the event in the French capital as the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024 draws closer.
But IOC President Thomas Bach said: “After a number of consultations, visits, follow-ups... I can say we have full confidence in the French security authorities.”
France’s reputation for policing sporting events took a battering following chaos at the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris on May 28, which critics blamed on heavy-handed policing.
An inquiry by the French Senate in July concluded that the problems were caused by a “string of dysfunctions.”
But Bach told reporters, the French authorities “have drawn the right conclusions from the incidents on the occasion of the Champions League final and they enjoy our full confidence.”
Another subject of concern is the ambitious vision of an Olympics opening ceremony that will not take place as is common in the athletics stadium, but as a flotilla down the River Seine.
Pierre-Olivier Beckers, the head of the IOC’s 2024 Games coordination commission, last week said he had been “reassured” about security at the opening ceremony after meeting Paris police chief Laurent Nunez.
In early August, he had told AFP discussions were ongoing about the number of people who would be allowed on the river banks to watch the parade.
Organizers had originally said 600,000 people might attend, but faced calls to reduce that number.
World Athletics head Sebastian Coe earlier on Friday told AFP he was also pushing for certain events to be moved out of the Stade de France, north of Paris, into street locations to increase exposure.
Coe, who headed up the organizing committee for the London Olympics in 2012, said he thought it was worth it despite the “security costs.”
PIORNAL, SPAIN: Mads Pedersen surged away from his sprint rivals on Friday to take the 19th stage, his third victory in the last seven Vuelta a Espana stages, while race leader Remco Evenepoel finished comfortably in the pack.
Pedersen, a Dane who rides for Trek, powered away from Fred Wright and Belgian Gianni Vermeersch, to take the 138.3km stage that began and ended in Talavera de la Reina in central Spain.
With two stages to race, Belgian Evenepoel of Quick-Step remained two minutes and seven seconds ahead of Spaniard Enric Mas and 5min 14sec clear of third-placed Juan Ayuso.
The stage ended in a sprint after the pack reeled in a powerful breakaway.
“It was very hard to control the peloton, the team did an impressive job,” said Pedersen. “I have to say thank you to the guys because without them I had no chance to win today.”
Evenepoel said he had done a deal with the winner to help ensure the pack finished together.
“This was the perfect race,” said Evenepoel. “I promised Mads to control the breakaway with him, so we did our job.”
On Tuesday, when his closest rival Primoz Roglic suffered a race-ending crash, Evenepoel also had a scare when he punctured.
But the Belgian was given the same time as the main bunch because he was less than 3km from the finish when he stopped.
He said those events were on his mind on Friday and he was just aiming to make it to the last 3km “in case I would get a flat tire or a bike problem. It’s just to stay safe, because tomorrow is the last day and the biggest fear today was to have a crash or to be unlucky. So that’s why we were trying to stay in front.”
“Then, the last 1.3km was a straight line, so then I could slow a bit down and just follow the wheels.”
Saturday’s 20th and penultimate stage is a 181km run from Moralzarzal to Puerto de Navacerrada through the Guadarrama range north of Madrid. It includes five climbs which will give Evenepoel’s rivals one last chance to attack.
“I think tomorrow will be a very crazy day,” said mountains classification leader Richard Carapaz of Ineos.
Sunday’s final stage is a short, flat ride into Madrid.
Meanwhile Roglic, the three-time defending Vuelta champion, on Friday blamed Wright for his crash.
Barely 100m from the line on Tuesday, Roglic, sprinting for victory and bonus points, made contact with Wright, lost control at high speed, smashed onto the tarmac and suffered injuries that forced him to abandon.
“This was not okay,” Roglic said in an interview published on the web site of his Jumbo-Visma team.
“The way this crash happened is unacceptable,” Roglic said.
“The crash was not caused by a bad road or a lack of safety but by a rider’s behavior. I don’t have eyes on my back. Otherwise, I would have run wide. Wright came from behind and rode the handlebars out of my hands before I knew it.”
Roglic said he felt “slightly better” on Friday morning.
He would not say if he thought he would race again this season.
“I can walk a little bit I am happy with that for the moment.”
As marks of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, riders paused at the start line for a minute and the British-based Ineos team wore black armbands.
RIYADH: Saudi champions Al-Hilal defeated Egyptian counterparts Zamalek 4-1 on penalties on Friday to win the Lusail Super Cup in front of almost 80,000 fans in Doha.
Despite the drama of spot kicks, after 90 minutes of action at Lusail Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw, it was a more-than deserved victory for the Riyadh side, who had dominated for much of the game.
Former Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo opened the scoring for the Asian champions but, just after the half-hour, Senegalese forward Ibrahima Ndiaye equalized for Zamalek, who won the Egyptian Premier League title last month.
Reigning Saudi Professional League champions Al-Hilal, who have won their first three games of the new season, were on top from from kick-off and took a deserved lead after 18 minutes with an opening goal that would be worthy of the World Cup final that will take place in the same stadium in December.
A lofted pass from the half-way line by impressive Colombian midfielder Gustavo Cueller found Ighalo just outside the area. The Nigerian striker beat the offside trap, controlled the ball with a deft touch and then delicately lifted the ball over goalkeeper Mohammed Awad, who had come off his line.
Zamalek had struggled to make an impact in the game but, after 33 minutes, they found themselves level. Goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf blocked a low shot from Seifeddine Jaziri but new signing Ndiaye was well placed to slot home the rebound.
Al-Hilal tried to bounce back and, just before the break, Awad saved with his left thigh from Moussa Marega when the Malian marksman broke through after a rapier-like attack.
At half-time the Asian champions, who had enjoyed two-thirds of the possession and the better chances, were disappointed to find themselves still on level terms and they began the second-half with clear attacking intent. The second period proved to be more of the same, with the Riyadh side taking the game to their Cairo counterparts.
On the hour, Al-Hilal should have restored their lead. Brazilian attacker Michael, who had just been introduced, reached the byline on the right side of the penalty area and pulled the ball back for Salem Al-Dawsari, who shot wide from just outside the six yard box.
Still the Blues pushed forward but just could not find a way past Awad. Indeed, they almost found themselves behind, with nine minutes remaining, when Egypt international Ahmed “Zizo” Sayed took up a good position only to blast his shot over the bar.
And so the game drifted into penalties. Ighalo scored the first and then Zizo beat Al-Mayouf but not the post to give the Saudi Arabians an initial lead.
Al-Dawsari increased Al-Hilal’s advantage but with Zamalek scoring and Awad then saving from Luciano Vietto, they appeared to be level again — until the video assistant referee ruled the goalkeeper had moved off his line.
The Italian scored at the second time of asking to make it 3-1, which meant that when Mahmoud Hamdy’s weak shot was saved by Al-Mayouf, Carillo could, and did, win the cup for Al-Hilal.