Curtains come down on swimming competitions at SOP
Doha, March 28, 2019. The swimming competitions of the 12th Schools Olympic Program edition successfully concluded at the Al Arabi Swimming Complex. A great number of students, school officials as well as representatives of the SOP and the Qatar Olympic Committee attended the event, as well as Khalil Al Jaber, President of Qatar Swimming Association.
Ali Al-Hitmi, Secretary-General of the Qatar School Sports Association (QSSA), Nasser Al-Malki, Assistant Secretary General of QSSA, and Dr. Salah Salem, the SOP Technical Expert and other officials honoured the winners of the competitions.
Preparatory and Secondary school matches were tough and exciting. In the boys` 50-metre freestyle event at the secondary stage Mohammed Fahd Hussein (Al Maha Academy), Yousuf El-Din (English Modern School) and Islam Gad (Musab bin Omair Independent School) topped the leaderboard, winning gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. In the same event, Tarek Ali Al-Fiqi (Omar Bin Al-Khattab School) took the first place, Mohab Al-Ghobari (English Modern School) – the second and Ali Shawkat (Tariq bin Ziyad School) – the third place.
In the 50-metre backstroke event Tamim Al Humaydah (Al Jazeera Academy), Amr Ahmed Samy (Cambridge school) and Mohammed Fahd Hussein (Al Maha Academy) got the first three spots respectively. In the same event, 50-metre backstroke, Ahmed Samara (the Tunisian School) finished first, Hassan Al-Obaidan (Tariq bin Ziyad School) came second and Ahmad Al-Khamaysa (Ahmad bin Hanbal Independent School) finished third.
In the 50-meter breathstroke event, Muhammad Bugattas (the Tunisian School) took a gold medal, Yusuf El-Din (English Modern School) – a silver one, while Noor Eddin Khadash (Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib school) took the bronze. Another group in the same event saw Abdullah Ali (Omar Ibn al-Khattab) became the gold medalist, Tariq Ali al-Fiqi (Omar bin Abdul Aziz Secondary School) took silver, while Khalid Mohsen (Ahmed bin Hanbal School) took the bronze.
In the 50-metre butterfly event, Mohammed Fahd Hussein (Al Maha Academy) ranked first winning the gold medal, while Tamim Al Humaydah (Al Jazeera Academy) finished second winning the silver and Omar Ahmed Samy (Cambridge School) won the bronze. Also the same event saw Ali Shoutant (Tarek bin Ziyad Secondary School) took the first spot, Mustafa Ahmed (Newton International Academy) took the second and Abdullah Ali (Omar bin Al-Khattab School) won the bronze.
In the 200-metre IM event for preparatory stage Tamim Al Humaydah (Al Jazeera Academy) took gold, Yousuf El-Din (English Modern School) won silver, while Noor Eddin Khadash (Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib school) took the bronze. In the 200-metre IM event for secondary schools, Mohammed Ahmed Al-Masri (Al-Manar International School) won gold, Ahmed Samara (the Tunisian School) took the silver and Muslim Abdullah Al-Nabat (Mohamed Bin Abdul Wahab School) took the bronze.
In the medley relay event, Hamza bin Abdul Mutallib School team topped the leaderboard winning the gold, followed by Birla Public School which took the silver. In the same event for secondary schools the Tariq bin Ziyad School team won gold and Michael E. Debakey High School finished second, while Omar bin Al-Khattab – third.
In the freestyle relay event, the team of Hamza bin Abdul Mutallib School ranked first winning the gold, the Tunisian school won the silver and the bronze went to the Mohammed bin Jassim School team. In the same event for secondary schools, Tariq bin Ziyad School won gold and Michael E. Debakey High School won silver followed by Ahmed bin Hanbal School that took the bronze.
Commenting on the competitions The Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) President Khaleel Al Jabir, underlined the crucial role the Schools Olympic Program plays in popularization of sports in Qatar saying that the program is an important national project to identify talents in various sports.
«Since the very first edition of the Schools Olympic Program, the project has shown tremendous growth and achieved its main objectives; the State of Qatar is the pioneer in this matter and we are extremely happy to be a part of the SOP competitions».
Khalil Al-Jaber also added: «This year’s edition witnessed not only a great number of young swimmers who are always keen to participate in the Program but also a great follow-up support conducted by the coaches who spare no effort to choose the talented students in order to give the very best of them the possibility to compete on behalf of Qatar internationally».
QSA President thanked the SOP Organizing Committee and wished every success and prosperity to the next editions of the Schools Olympic Program.
The SOP is held annually as a collaborative effort of Qatar School Sports Federation (QSSF) and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, with hundreds of student athletes competing from all over Qatar.
The SOP committee aims to spread a culture of sports through Qatar’s schools and to engage the entire community in active and healthy lifestyle while retaining local values and traditions.