Qatar in Colour |
“It was hard to convince
people to try something
new at first, but we
got around 100 people
together at Aspire Zone
in 2013, which quickly
grew to 250 people, and it
continued to grow.”
Ewan Cameron,
Director of TriClub Doha
| A triathlete pounds the streets of Doha during a triathlon race in Education City
T
he true pinnacle of sporting achievement is the
triathlon. The glory of a three-part race across land
and water is hard to beat. But as residents of Doha have
discovered, it need not be daunting.
Ewan Cameron, director of TriClub Doha, explains: “A
triathlon is a race where the participants will swim, cycle
and run to the finish line, typically in that order. It can be
done as an individual or as part of a team.”
Race lengths range from short distances which can take
20 minutes, to the full Ironman level, where athletes can
take up to a full day to swim 4km, cycle 180km, and run
42km.
“That’s the epic event for a triathlete,” says Ewan. “The
race length we typically do takes an hour to an hour and
a half, with a 500m swim, a 20km bike ride, and a 5k
run.”
A decade ago, the triathlon did not exist in Qatar.
TriClub Doha was formed by a group of expat athletes
in 2013. They were training to compete in triathlons
abroad and decided to develop an event in Qatar.
“It was hard to convince people to try something new
at first,” recalls Ewan, who lives and breathes triathlons,
“but we got around 100 people together at Aspire
Zone in 2013, which quickly grew to 250 people, and it
continued to grow.”
The Qatar Olympic Committee soon got involved,
setting up a Qatar Triathlon Federation, which has
started to organise triathlons on the Pearl, the Corniche,
and at the Museum of Islamic Art Park.
The largest event took place at Qatar Foundation in early
2019, with 470 participants. “It’s been great fun seeing
lots of people join in,” says Ewan. “At the first event,
there were ten kids. At the last race, there were more
than 200 youngsters, trying all three disciplines. They
get a medal when they cross the finish line, and a T-shirt.
They’re always happy.”
45