Oman Sail team heads to Netherlands to prepare for Allianz Regatta

Oman Sail’s 49er team have travelled to the Netherlands for training as they prepare for an important second half of 2023 culminating in Asian Qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After training in Medemblik, 50km north of Amsterdam, the team will compete at the Allianz Regatta from May 31 to June 4 where

seven of the 10 Olympic classes will be in action.

The Omani team will be led by Mohsin al Busaidy, Oman Sail’s Head of Performance, and Zakaria al Wahabi, 49er coach. The four sailors – Musab al Hadi, Waleed al Kindi, Abdulrahman al Maashari and Ahmed al Hasni – will train for 10 days before competition begins.

Mohsin al Busaidy, Oman Sail’s Head of Performance, said, “This is a pivotal moment in the history of Oman Sail and the national sailing programme. We narrowly missed out on a place at Tokyo 2020, but the shorter qualification cycle presents another opportunity for the team. The scheduled training camps and competitions have been arranged to make the most of the timing and maximise our capabilities in time for the 2023 Asian Championships in Thailand where the places will be decided. We are all focused and the training camps will

help to provide the ideal environment for the team to perform at its best.”

Zakaria al Wahabi (pictured), Oman’s 49er coach, added, “The first training camp of the summer season is an exciting opportunity to learn alongside some of the very best sailors in the world. From there we have the chance to train and improve over the course of several months while competing in very high-level championships. This experience, alongside the support from the coaching and performance team, will be invaluable as we look to achieve the ambitious goal of having an Omani sailor compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

The Allianz Regatta is the first stop on a journey that could lead to Paris 2024. Following the conclusion of competition, the team will head to Kiel in Germany for training ahead of Kiel Week, taking place from 17-25 June.

After that the team will travel to China for a 10-day training camp in August and another in September to prepare for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, being held from September 23 to October 8.

The team has also scheduled training in Pattaya, Thailand, in November and in the first week of December to familiarise themselves with the local waters in preparation for the 2023 Asian Championships, a qualification event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games taking place in Chon Buri, Thailand, from December 1021. In between each training camp the team will return to Oman to analyse and assess their progress in order to secure Olympic qualification for the Olympic Sailing event, being held in Marseille from July 28 to August 8 2024, and take a huge step forward in achieving Oman Sail’s objective of winning an Olympic medal for the nation in sailing.