This last weekend has seen a great celebration of our sporting history as ITU commemorates the inaugural World Championships, held in Avignon. However, sporting history meets ancient history in January when we will see the 2015 – Luxor ATU Duathlon African and Pan Arab Championships. This city is a true wonder. Known as being the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor is rightly held to be the biggest open-air museum in the world. The Temple of Luxor, dating back 4,000 years, will form the backdrop for the event.
The hard work has been done by General Ahmed Nasser. Not only is he a member of the ITU Executive Board but he also holds the ranks of President of the African Triathlon Union and is the founding President of the Egyptian Triathlon Federation. He has worked tirelessly to bring this event to the international stage. He has worked closely with the city authorities. Below we see him with Luxor Governor General Tarek Sad.
Supporting him from ITU is one of ETU’s most experienced Technical Delegates, Andreas Galanos. Andreas has been working closely with Duathlon events for the past few years and was the Technical Delegate for the hugely successful partnership between ITU and Powerman in Zofingen.
Together they will work to ensure that this event delivers the best possible race. For Andreas this was a dream come true as he has a deep interest in ancient history. “It is amazing. The Transition Area, Start and Finish are all in front of the stunning LUXOR temple. This is a World Cultural Heritage monument and one of the most important landmarks in Egypt. The run takes you along the Eastern bank of Nile. It is like history coming to life. The bike course is flat, not too technical and we have strong support from the local authorities. This is always a very important factor in making sure our events go well. The weather, well, expected weather conditions are excellent. The accommodation for athletes will be in a 5 star hotel but they will only pay the price of a 3 star hotel.”
This event is a major step forwards for not only our sport but indeed all sport in this region. Men and women will be racing over the same course and will, amongst the elite, share the same prize money. If it is too late for you to race this year – then keep an eye open for the race in 2016.
Athletes are due to arrive on 8th January. The race schedule is as follows:-
- January 9th – Age Group races / U16 / Mixed Relay
- January 10th U19 / U23 / Elite
Prize money for men and women
1st USD1,500
2nd USD1,200
3rd USD550
4th USD400
5th USD350
6th USD300
7th USD250
8th USD200
9th USD150
10th USD100
Official Hotel – Karnak Resort “Mercure Karnak”. For More Information & Registrations kindly contact the LOC using the following:
- Email : championahmednasser@gmail.com
- Or : Fax : +20023891056
- Contact Person : Dalia Saher : +201111134864
