WATCH: Qatar Living at the spectacular Doha Triathlon 2019

As we gear up for one of the most exciting events on Qatar's annual sporting calendar, the Doha Triathlon, today's edition of QL Flashback Fridays shines a spotlight on this spectacular event held last year.  

The Doha Triathlon 2019 took place at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park, with an excellent turnout and over 400 entries.

As one of the triathlon’s official media partners, the Qatar Living team was on board and present, with Shaun getting some firsthand commentary from the participants.

The event, which is supported by Qatar Tourism Council, Qatar Triathlon Federation, Qatar Olympic Committee and Qatar Museums, featured different races for men and women including Olympic-distance triathlon, sprint, super sprint for youth and adults, in addition to a kids duathlon.

The excellent Doha weather enhanced the joy of this event that included swimming in the bay next to MIA, cycling at Doha corniche and running in the scenic MIA Park.

The event kicked off with the sprint race of national championship series, which included 750-meter
swimming, 20-kilometer cycling and 5-kilometer running.

Saad Al Mejali from Q-Tri emerged as a new Qatar champion with 1:11:52h, taking over
Ebrahim Al Romaihi, and reducing his 2018 timing by 51 seconds to shift him to the third place, while Abdulrahman Al Jaber was second.

It was followed by the Olympic-distance triathlon that involves 1500-meter swimming, 40-kilometer cycling, and a 10-kilometer run.

Seyed Hassan Babaei, an international participant from Iran, won the best overall men top place with a time of 2:04:52 (photo GAC_3910), while on the ladies’ section, Toni Snoxell from TriClub Doha secured the first place with 2:23:59.

In the team relays, Police Sport teams had an outstanding performance with Ismail Dergaa/Thomas Whateley/Ahmed Sebbar in first place (1:51:19) and Aziz Moullah/Fadhel Elhativ/Mohamed Mehdi in third (2:01:38).

Next was the sprint distance (open category), where 2018 champion Bernard McCullagh kept his title as best overall male reducing his time from 1:06:14 to 1:02:32.

He was followed by Ethan Bennett who also was second in 2018 and veteran international
participant from Spain, Ruben Hernando Ferrero with 1:03:34. Aday Alvarez was third in the open category with 1:04:03.

In the ladies’ section, Isora Sosa Caballero (photo GAC_5431) took the first place with 1:12:19
overtaking last year’s champion Carla Pegigueiro who was second with a time of 1:16:20 and
international participant Mary Shepro from USA, Endurance Sports, who finished third with 1:17:23.

On team relays, Police Sport took the first place with 1:04:44 by Adam Ayari/Alvin Quimzon/Houssine Lahdou.

More than 50 participants took part in the Super Sprint distance, with adult beginners and
teenagers’ categories, Kids Duathlon, which only included swimming and running, was also
overbooked with a variety of ages that ranged between 7 to 12 years old. The event witnessed high public attendance.

All the participants received a commemorative medal after crossing the finish line, before
celebrating in the festive finish line area.

Later, Qatar Triathlon Federation officials and representatives of the sponsors and partners took part in the medal ceremony, where the top three finishers received special medals and prizes from Al Tawfeeq Travels and Royal Air Maroc.

The success of Doha Triathlon 2019 came as no surprise, as the number of triathlon events in Qatar nearly tripled over the past few years, the country’s population of triathletes is constantly growing, and Qatar Triathlon Federation is working hard to promote the sport and form a strong national team through organizing various events that include the national triathlon series.

Doha Triathlon was the third stage of the series, with the fourth and final stages for Lusail and the Pearl held over the next couple of months.

Doha Triathlon also clearly strengthened its position as one of the top triathlon events in the region.

The 2019 edition attracted triathletes from different countries around the world including Oman, Kuwait, Iran, the USA, Great Britain, France, Spain, and Romania.

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