Dubai: A squad of 150 will represent the UAE at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix event at the Dubai Police Officers Club from February 20-27.
Organised by the Dubai Club for Special Sports, the 2015 IPC Athletics Grand Prix Fazaa International Athletics Competition is a qualifying event for the year-end IPC World Cup to be held in neighbouring Qatar and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.
The event has been held every year since 2009 under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC). The inaugural edition attracted 45 athletes from 13 countries, but this year’s has attracted 490 from 48 countries.
The 2014 edition, the first event on the IPC Athletics Grand Prix calendar, was held at the Sharjah Club and witnessed seven world and 22 regional records.
Held under the auspices of the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Centre, this time the athletes will compete in 170 events in the men’s and women’s categories.
It will act as the season opener with future stops between now and June in Brisbane, Australia; Tunis; Beijing; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Mesa, US; Nottwil, Switzerland; Grosseto, Italy; and Berlin.
“What we’ve noticed is the huge demand for this event in a mere seven years and that says a lot for the way we have organised and hosted the athletes,” Thani Juma Berregad, Chairman of the Organising Committee, told Gulf News.
“Post-London 2012, there have been huge improvements in the performances of our athletes. They have found this belief that they can compete against the best and even win medals. For us this is a huge achievement and we can look confidently to Rio next year.”
Athletes will compete in track events such as the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,500 and 5,000 metres, along with field events such as the shot put, discus, javelin and long jump.
