Open Water Championship review

18 November, 2021

​The Open Water Championship, an elite swimming race, was held in the shimmering blue waters of the KAUST harbor on Saturday, October 16.  KAUST's first Ministry of Sport sanctioned event brought swimmers from around the country to the specially designed course in the Red Sea. The Saudi open water championship was a huge success with nearly 200 competitors from three age groups, including four elite swimmers from the KAUST community.

KAUST elite swimmers

Well done to the KAUST community members who completed the race:

  • Sacha Palermo, 4 laps in time 01.05.51.63 and
  • the 9th place;
  • Alberto A. Ceschin, 4 laps in time 01.10.11.19 that gives 13th place;
  • Eric Rowell, 4 laps in time 01.25.28.19 that puts Eric in 28th place;
  • Dewi Zhang, 2 laps in time 01.18.53.70. Dewi is 13 years old and his score placed him in 41st place.

KAUST competitor Eric Rowell and his wife Ashley also created an excellent video about their experience at the event.

Race winners

Congratulations to all the Open Water Championship winners, in each category:

  • 13-14 years old 2000m (2 laps)

 

NameClubTimingPlace
Zeyad AL SrajAl Hilal00.38.58.801
Ahmed Al ObiadAl Khaleej00.39.02.532
Hamza AL MutawaAl-Fateh00.39.23.043

 

  • 15-17 years old 3000m (3 laps)

 

NameClubTimingPlace
Aqeel Al HashemAl Adalah00.43.28.761
Mohamed Al ZakiAl Khaleej00.43.63.772
Hussein Al MarhounAl Safa00.44.52.973

 

  • 18 years old and above 4000m (4 laps)

 

NameClubTimingPlace
Ahmed Al HashemAl Adalah00.57.05.611
Hassan Al-BaqshiAl-Fateh00.57.09.072
Ammar Al HamidAl Safa00.57.56.403

 

Event photos and videos

The event photos and videos are now available on the Community Life Flickr page





 

Thank you to the spectators for your motivation, the hosting and supporting teams for a well-organized event, and the participants for your hard work and determination!